Families say someone fired random shots into homes

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Two Johns Creek families sheltering in place had a frightening experience after police say someone fired bullets randomly into their homes.

The incidents happened off Bell Road on April 17.

“I heard like five shots and my first thought was fireworks,” one woman told Channel 2 Action News and its news partner, Telemundo Atlanta, on the condition of anonymity. “I walked to my bedroom and actually saw that the bullet went through, so I was, like, freaking out.”

Body camera footage obtained by Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik shows officers and the city’s police chief searching the woman’s home and finding a bullet lodged in a bureau of drawers.

Up the street, police told Petchenik they got a call about a second shooting.

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“They found damage to both homes and confirmed that a shot had been fired into the home, and they recovered rounds from both of those houses as well,” Johns Creek police Capt. Todd Hood said.

In a second case, a police report said a round went into a child’s bedroom while a little girl was asleep inside the vice consul of Ecuador’s home.

“We don’t really have any leads on it. We believe it was random and that the two victims were not specifically sought out,” Hood said.

Hood said detectives were seeking out any surveillance video from Bell Road that could show the shooter's vehicle.

“I don’t know why somebody would do that,” he said. “It’s extremely dangerous to just randomly shoot a weapon out in the direction of anything without knowing what the target is.”

The victim who spoke about the incident called it “outrageous.”

“What happened if they killed someone? You never know if it hit somebody,” she said. “I feel that during this time of the virus, the pandemic, people should have compassion for others.”

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