Complex where baby grazed by bullet routinely fails HUD inspection, database shows

ATLANTA — Residents of an apartment complex where a 6-month-old was grazed by a bullet gathered Wednesday along with a group of activists to march against crime and poor living conditions in their neighborhood.

The Forest Cove apartment complex routinely fails inspection by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to the HUD database. Residents say they are frustrated by crime, rodents and broken utilities.

Channel 2's Matt Johnson was at the complex where a fired-up group of residents chanted about wanting decent housing.

The building is largely funded by taxpayer dollars and receives federal money to operate.

Resident Felicia Morris told Johnson she organized the protest after the baby and mother were shot Sunday.

"I've been through all the struggle, all the killing, all the violence, all the children getting shot," Morris said.

"This has been going on for far too long now. It’s been failing inspections, HUD inspections, for far too long now,” another resident, Latresa Chaney, told Johnson.

Residents initially planned to take their concerns to management Wednesday, but the offices were closed. The group dropped off a list of demands. They say complaints about failing air conditioning units, holes in the ceiling, leaky pipes and other issues are often ignored.

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Channel 2 Action News reported on the same complex three years ago after it received a HUD score of 31 in 2015. The score was 32 in February 2018. The complex's score is the second lowest among HUD properties in the state.

The property is owned by Global Ministries in Tennessee. The company's president, Dr. Richard Hamlet, reported making $297,000 in 2016.

Johnson's calls to management and HUD went unanswered.

"The deplorable conditions that we've seen, HUD should be absolutely ashamed of themselves to support and give money to Global Ministries," Gerri Collins with the National Alliance of HUD Tenants said.

Atlanta police say the baby and a woman were shot when a person drove up and fired roughly 20 rounds at a building in the 600 block of New Town Circle SE on Sunday. The woman was trying to shield the baby when shots rang out, police said.

Both the baby and the woman were treated at hospitals and are expected to survive.

Police are still working to find the shooter.

Cox Media Group