Atlanta

Police investigate 2 shootings at apartment complex

Police are investigating two separate shootings with three victims at the Fairburn Gordon Apartments in northwest Atlanta. According to investigators, one of the victims hid in the back seat of a police car in order to evade the person who shot him.
Two of the three people who suffered gunshot wounds underwent surgery overnight and are in serious but stable condition.
A police lieutenant said an officer was at the complex responding to a domestic disturbance call when a resident told him a man was with a gunshot wound to the leg was hiding in the back seat of his squad car.
The officer called for a medic and then came across a man who had been grazed in the head by a bullet. The victim told police someone on the other side of the complex had shot him.
The lieutenant said as officers canvassed the breezeway, gunfire erupted. They found a third victim lying near a car in the parking lot. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and hand.
Danata McDowell lives with her son about 3 miles from the complex. She operates the Jamboree Early Learning Center next door.
“He came and said, ‘Ma, somebody just got shot at the apartments,’” she said.
McDowell said the violence near her day care center needs to stop. She said there are shootings during the day and she worries about the children.
“It bothers me as a director,” McDowell said. “Sometimes, we have to come in and literally run because of the gunshots.”
McDowell believes better security at the complex is the answer.
After talking to witnesses, investigators said they believe there was shootout between two groups.
They recovered a gun but have no suspects in custody.