“I don’t want to die at the gym:” Car thieves open fire at metro Atlanta L.A. fitness, police say

ATLANTA — Members of a popular gym say working out there is putting their lives at risk after police said some would-be car thieves shot at two gym members who tried to stop them.

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Channel 2′s Tom Jones was at the L.A. Fitness on Camp Creek Parkway Thursday, gym members said the crime problem has gotten out of hand and they shouldn’t have to risk their lives to work out.

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Benjamin Lang was inside the gym Tuesday morning around 6:30 when he heard what he described as eight or nine shots in the parking lot.

“It’s sad when we have to deal with that and think every day we have to go to the gym, it’s a possibility that we could be shot,” Lang said.

Nicole Blount was also at the gym at the time.

“Anybody could have been hit by a bullet on that morning,” Blount said. “I don’t want to die at the gym.”

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Atlanta police said it started when a gym member came out and saw four young men breaking into a Dodge Charger. The man yelled at the suspects. That’s why they opened fire on him and another gym member.

People who work out at the gym couldn’t believe it.

“That’s very troubling to hear,” Rodney London said.

“This is where you come to release, not put your guard up,” Myra Farmer said.

A worker at the gym told officers the two men who were shot at came running back inside the facility. She said one of the men whispered he thinks he hit one of the suspects.

Police checked area hospitals and couldn’t locate a gunshot victim.

Members said car break-ins are a major problem. Caesar Collier had his truck broken into.

“They came and tried to get in overnight, but I leave the doors unlocked because that’s what they do,” Collier said.

Farmer said gym members need police to step in.

“We desperately need help,” Farmer said. “We need those police to be hands-on.”

Jones reached out to L.A. Fitness to get a response but he hasn’t heard back.

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