5 robberies in 5 days: APD increases midtown patrols

ATLANTA — Atlanta police have increased patrols after five robberies in five days in the Midtown area.

One victim told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri two young men came up and pointed guns at his head as he walked on 6th Street at Juniper to his car parked nearby.

"These people knew exactly what they were doing," said the man, named Ali.

He said he had just left dinner when he heard two men running up behind him.

"I thought they were going to keep running past me. When they didn't run past me, I turned around and I just see two barrels of two weapons staring at my head," he said.

An Army veteran who served in Iraq, Ali noticed one of the men had a real gun, the other was carrying a BB gun, which he grabbed.

"We struggled a little bit," Ali said. "That's when his buddy hit me over the head right here."

He suffered a concussion along with scrapes and bruises from where the man hit him with the gun over the head. Ali said they took his car keys, cellphone and wallet before running off. He then saw another victim coming toward him bloody and injured.

Police believed the same men robbed that person on Juniper Street, breaking his nose and chipping his tooth when he fought back.

"Maybe a minute or two before me, because I saw them running and I thought maybe they were running from somebody," Ali said.

According to incident reports, two men matching the same description and carrying a silver handgun robbed two men early Saturday on Myrtle Street and two others Monday on Juniper Street.

A fifth person was robbed on Juniper Street when a man forced his way into his building and demanded cash.

Atlanta Police said they have increased patrols and are working with Midtown Blue, Midtown Ponce Security Alliance as well as their new Beltline Path Force to address the crimes.

WSBTV