String of armed pedestrian robberies in NE Atlanta
Many are in fear in northeast Atlanta after a string of armed pedestrian robberies. Sunday evening, police say there were four armed robberies in two hours within 3 miles. Investigators are now looking into whether any or all of them are related.
One man says he was just outside his apartment on St. Charles Avenue when two men came up to him with guns pointed. “I said please don’t kill me and you can have my stuff. I put my hands up and they take my keys, phone and wallet,” he said.
His credit cards were used at various locations. His phone was found at the scene of another crime that happened 30 minutes later on the Atlanta BeltLine . Police say four young women were walking on the BeltLine when they said armed men grabbed their purses and fired a shot into the air.
Earlier in the evening, a man had just gotten out of an Uber car and was in front of a friend’s home at the corner of Hurt and Euclid, when he told police two men with guns ran up to him, grabbed his phone and wallet, then jumped in a waiting black SUV and took off.
Another armed robbery was reported on Willoughby Way. Two men told police robbers stole their wallets, phones and keys at gunpoint.
Police say the descriptions of the robbers are similar but very vague, black men between 17 to 20 years old with pistols. Investigators are trying to determine a connection between the crimes.
Atlanta Police released a statement saying “In 2016, the BeltLine recorded more than 1.7 million users and we have not had any robberies on the Atlanta BeltLine since 2015 and those perpetrators were arrested and convicted.” The statement goes on to say the BeltLine is a safe place but says the Atlanta Path Force will increase patrols in the late evening hours.
NEXT ARTICLE: Atlanta votes on recording studio restrictions
