ATLANTA — People who live and work in one Atlanta neighborhood say they want police more engaged, after police said someone randomly stabbed three people Monday morning in their area.
All three attacks happened minutes apart at two businesses on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in southwest Atlanta.
Witnesses told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that they see so much violence in that area, they’ve almost become immune to it.
“You just hope it don’t happen to you or a customer. That’s the only thing we pray for each and every day,” said Antoine Wade, who is a barber in the neighborhood.
Police said just before noon Monday, two men, in two separate attacks, told officers they were approached in a parking lot at MLK Drive near Hamilton E. Holmes Boulevard.
“One was approached from the rear and vice-versa. That they did not know this person. When they looked and saw him he turned around,” Capt. Jeff Cantin with the Atlanta Police Department said.
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That’s when police said the attacker stabbed them — one in the throat. Minutes later just down the street, he stabbed another man.
“There doesn’t seem to be a connection right now to the victims,” Cantin said.
People who live in the area say the violence is out of control.
“My Jesus. It’s making me scared to even be in the neighborhood,” one neighbor told Jones, who didn’t identify themselves.
Some say the area needs more resources, and for police to get out of their cars.
“They ride around with two policemen in the car, man, and all they do is ride,” neighbor Sebastian Neal said.
Wade told Jones that chaos is a way of life in the area.
“We’re on eggshells over here,” Wade said.
The stabbing victims remain stable.
They described their attacker as a Black man dressed in all black, with a black mask and a black hoodie.
Atlanta police said anyone with information on the stabbings should contact 911 or Crime Stoppers Atlanta. Tips can be submitted anonymously at www.StopCrimeATL.com or calling 404-577-8477.