ATLANTA — Safety is at the top of the minds of many as Atlanta Police search for the person behind a stabbing where a woman and her dog were killed at Piedmont Park.
Murders there appear to be rare. One of the last homicides in Piedmont Park Atlanta Police happened back in 2009, records show.
Around 1:30 a.m. on May 28 of that year, the body of Patrick Boland was found in the park. Boland, according to Atlanta Police records, had been stabbed to death.
More than a decade later, the murder is listed by Atlanta Police as a cold case.
In response to an inquiry by 11Alive on Thursday, Atlanta Police reported Boland's death was the last homicide in Piedmont Park until this week.
Wednesday morning around 1 a.m., 40-year-old Katie Janness and her dog Bowie were found stabbed to death inside the park near the 10th Street gate entrance.
Atlanta Police released an image from a security camera near 10th and Piedmont investigators say show the pair during one of their last moments.
The pair was out for a walk.
When Janness didn't come home, her wife got worried and found her through the Find My iPhone app.
Atlanta Police have released very few details about the murder. The department also hasn't released any description or image of a potential suspect.
11Alive on Thursday asked APD how many city cameras are installed around the park, if any images of a suspect were captured and if anything is being done to increase the quality of images the city's cameras record.
In an emailed response, an Atlanta Police spokesperson said the "information on the number, placement, and capability of surveillance equipment is sensitive operational data and we will not be releasing that information."
Betsy Bockman is the principal of the recently renamed Midtown High School, which sits on the other side of 10th Street by Piedmont Park.
"Its such a central place and for something so devastating and drastic to happen so close to our students, it is just too much," Bockman said.
As principal, she said she works and carries out plans to keep her students safe on campus. Off-campus she would like to see more cameras.
"Once they leave, we lose control of them and we, of course, lose control of their safety. So I do think we need a lot of high-tech to keep everybody safe," Bockman said.
A vigil was held Thursday for Janness.