ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police Department is urging residents to act differently as the number of shootings in recent weeks weighs heavily on the city.
In an online post made Thursday, APD reminded the city’s residents that June was Gun Violence Awareness Month, and asked Atlantans to work toward reducing violence.
Year to year, Atlanta homicides have fallen about 25% in the same period of time.
However, the department said violence in the city is “not just a police problem, but a people problem.”
By the numbers, the City of Atlanta had dozens of murders and non-negligent manslaughters from Jan. 1, 2022, to June 9, 2022.
Data from APD reported there were 73 murder and nonnegligent manslaughter incidents in the city.
Of those 73 deaths, 64 involved a firearm, according to data from APD.
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For the same time period in 2023, the total incidents so far were a reported 53, with 49 involving homicides.
The data collected is publicly available on the police department’s open data dashboard.
While the number of deaths is lower in the city, the department said in its post that the violence remains a “plague, not only [for] our city, but the nation.”
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“People are using guns to respond to domestic and acquaintance disputes, to “resolve” arguments with strangers, and to victimize innocent people,” APD said in a statement. “This is not just a police issue, it is a people issue.”
In recent weeks, there have been multiple shootings across the metro Atlanta area.
Several have involved juveniles and teenagers, including one that left a teen girl dead at Mayor Andre Dickens’ alma mater, Benjamin E. Mays High School.
Dickens spoke to the press about the need for change in the city, and efforts to curb violence among young Atlantans during the summer break, describing the shooting of the 16-year-old as “heartbreaking.”
“We’re always heartbroken when anyone loses their life in our city, especially when it’s a young person. The day after school lets out. Here today we are on the campus of Mays High School, my alma mater, my neighborhood, where tragically last night, a shooting occurred,” Dickens said while on the school grounds. “One young lady, a rising 11th grader, lost her life, and a young man, is at Grady Hospital in stable condition, from a gunshot wound. He’s also a rising junior.”
Another teenager-related shooting incident happened at the East Point MARTA station, where a 15-year-old boy is accused of killing a 16-year-old.
APD pledged to continue taking violent crime seriously, and to use all available resources to fight the issue, but asked “people to make smarter decisions.”
The department said leaving guns in cars is one of several factors increasing violence on the streets. They asked for Atlantans to stop leaving guns unattended in cars, and provided a series of tips to help curb the number of violent encounters.
- If your anger management is so out of control that when you disagree with someone or want something you can’t have, you think shooting someone is the answer, you are part of the problem. Seek help. There are resources available.
- If you can’t go to a bar or restaurant and conduct yourself with decency and interact with others with respect for life, you are stealing our peace and making our streets unsafe.
- How you manage conflict matters. How you secure your weapon matters. Whether it is mass shootings, weekend shootouts at the local bar, road rage incidents, gang or domestic violence situations that turn deadly, the result is the same. These are people deciding to act unlawfully and without regard for the lives of others.
- Responsible gun ownership is key.
- Conflict management is key.
The post ended by asking the community to stay diligent, pay attention to their surroundings and call 911 if they see something.
“Together, we can make and keep our city safe,” APD said in the statement.
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