EAST POINT, Ga. — Nearly one week after gun violence injured three teenagers and sent dozens more running for their lives, East Point police are enforcing a city-wide curfew for children hoping to prevent similar scenes.
The curfew went into effect at 9 p.m. Friday and since then Channel 2′s Michael Seiden said he didn’t see any kids without their parents around the Camp Creek Marketplace.
Seiden saw multiple police departments patrolling the shopping center.
“What’s critically clear is that parent accountability is missing,” said East Point Mayor Deana Holiday Ingram.
The city said the plan is to educate the public, give out warnings, but for any parent who doesn’t take responsibility for their own child, they could be fined and face possible jail time.
The city approved the ordinance following last Saturday’s triple shooting at Camp Creek Marketplace where someone opened fire into a crowd injuring three teenagers and sending dozens more running for their lives.
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“It scared a lot of people, and we just want to try to put a stop to that and not let it happen again,” said East Point Police Capt. Allyn Glover.
City leaders say the new curfew is all about preventing violence, protecting children and holding parents accountable for their kids’ actions.
“For the first offense, the parent receives a verbal warning from a police officer. And that’s documented. And then the second offense or subsequent offenses could result in a up to $1,000 fine and up to 60 days in jail,” Ingram said.
“Hopefully we can educate everyone in the next few days,” Glover said.
And East Point isn’t alone when it comes to enforcing a city-wide curfew for children.
The City of Atlanta has a weekend curfew of 11 p.m. for kids 16 and under.
“We’ve seen an uptick in crime that involves juveniles and we are trying to get ahead,” said Atlanta Police Maj. Carven Tyus.
Since last weekend’s gun violence in East Point, Atlanta police have turned to the neighborhood app, Next Door, to spread their message to parents.
“We don’t want the parents to wait until that child becomes a victim of a violent crime or more importantly, participates in a violent crime,” Tyus said.
He told Seiden that if you are out this weekend, you can expect to see increased patrols, especially at popular teenage hangouts, like Atlantic Station, where last November, smartphone video captured the chaos after a massive brawl involving 300 teens broke out.
By the time the punches stopped flying, police say a 13-year-old boy had been brutally beaten and robbed.
“Not only are kids getting into mischief now, but they’re armed with firearms now and they’re not afraid to use them,” Tyus said.
Seiden went to Atlanta and East Point Friday night where he spoke with several parents, including Erika Alexander, who said in the past, she’s had a front-row seat to the chaos and is a huge supporter of the curfew.
“I think that’s reasonable. There has to be consequences. Can’t have people out here terrorizing the community. People just want to shop, go out to eat,” Alexander said.
“We are looking for a buy-in from the parents and that’s all we are looking for,” Tyus said.
As for the teens injured in last weekend’s incident, all three are out of the hospital and recovering at home.
As far as the investigation goes, police are still desperate for answers. So far, there have been no arrests.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.
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