Atlanta reaches grim milestone of over 100 murders in 2021

ATLANTA — More than 100 people have been murdered in metro Atlanta in 2021, a grim milestone that is evidence of the city’s crime problem.

Last year, the Atlanta Police Department investigated 157 homicides, the most in more than 20 years. It took until Oct. 1 to reach the 100th homicide in 2020.

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Atlanta Police reported a nearly 60% increase in homicide cases in June, though the trend has since slowed.

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Five people have been shot and killed in metro Atlanta just since Friday. A brother and sister were shot to death by someone they knew on Sells Ave. on Friday night. Lamorris Godfrey has been charged with two counts of murder.

On Saturday afternoon, a man was shot and killed on Magnolia Street, officially marking the city’s 100th homicide in 2021. His identity has not been released.

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Three more people were shot and killed around 12:45 a.m. Sunday morning outside of the KISS Ultra Lounge. Police said the three victims were between the ages of 35 and 45, but their identities have not been released.

Homicide investigators are still trying to piece together what led up to the shooting.

Included in the homicide totals are several high-profile cases, including the murders of two popular Atlanta bartenders and a mass shooting that left eight people dead, including four women at an Asian spa in metro Atlanta.

27-year-old Mariam Abdulrab was kidnapped in front of her boyfriend’s home early in the morning on Aug. 13 and was later shot and killed. DeMarcus Brinkley has been arrested in her death.

Last month, Katherine “Katie” Janness, 40, was stabbed to death as she walked her dog in Piedmont Park. Police have not identified a suspect in her death.

In March, Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; and Yong Ae Yue, 63 were all killed at two Asian spas on Cheshire Bridge Road. Robert Aaron Long, 22, plead guilty to their murders in July, as well as in the murders of four people in Cherokee County.

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