Highway danger: Atlanta Police investigate 14 shootings in just 5 months

ATLANTA — It’s a problem not limited to late-night clubs or people’s homes, it’s happening on the highways too, sometimes during the day.. Atlanta Police have had their hands full dealing with people shooting at each other on the open highway.

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Channel 2 Action News got information from Atlanta Police documenting 14 shootings on Atlanta’s interstates since the beginning of 2021.

Of those 14 shootings, so far only two have been closed via arrest. Police say only three of them were road rage incidents.

Seven of the shootings happened on I-20, two on I-85 and the Downtown Connector and one each on I-285 and Georgia 400.

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The latest interstate shooting happened Thursday night on I-85 in Southwest Atlanta when one passenger started shooting at another in a Lyft driver’s car. The suspect and an unidentified female who was in the car both ran across the highway and have not been arrested at this time.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Steve Gehlbach spoke with a 22-year old woman who is still recovering after being shot when in a car she was riding in was riddled with bullets on I-75 near Edgewood Ave.

“All I know is I heard a boom and I just felt a very bad burning sensation in my leg,” said the victim. “It can happen to absolutely anybody. Nobody is invincible to anything.”

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Time has not been a factor in when the interstate shootings are happening. APD statistics show five happening overnight, between midnight and 5 a.m.

But six of them happened in broad daylight, in the afternoon. The other three happened in the early evening hours around the time the sunset, including Thursday night’s incident.

Atlanta Police are hoping someone might have seen or have information on the unsolved shootings. Anyone who can help is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers of Metro Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477). Information leading to an arrest could make you eligible for a reward.

Man shot inside a Lyft by fellow passenger on I-85, police say