SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Shootings, stabbings, and no security cameras -- those are just some of the things people who live in the Camelot Condominiums said they have to deal with right now.
Fourteen homicides have happened at Camelot since 2019, and the City of South Fulton Police said five of those have taken place this year alone.
The City of South Fulton Council approved accepting a $1.5 million grant from Governor Brian Kemp's office Tuesday to improve public safety. South Fulton Police Lt. Jubal Rogers said most of the money will go to a safety center now in the works.
”That money is going to be used towards building a state of the art Real-Time Crime Center," Rogers said. "The center will have our license plate readers, surveillance cameras, gunshot detection and other equipment and technology to combat this crime issues we've been having in the city, specifically at Camelot as well."
However, home residents would like to see a portion of that grant spent elsewhere.
“Camelot needs a part of that $1.5 million," Condia Perry said.
Perry lives at Camelot and attended Tuesday's city council vote on the public safety funding.
“Having to deal with people being murdered where I live, that's an uneasy feeling, and it doesn't make you feel safe," Perry said.
Last year, 11Alive covered the conditions and crime at Camelot, and a year later, many people who live there said it's gotten worse, particularly around a building.
“There was a fire that happened here January of ’20, and ever since then, it’s just been boarded up," Perry said.
Perry would like to see the front and back gates fixed, as well as security cameras throughout the complex.
“Camelot just needs a revamping," Perry said. "There’s not a building out here that doesn’t have some type of structural damage to it, but there are some buildings that have more squatters than others.”
City of South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau lived in the troubled complex for 10 months after taking office to better understand the issues there.
South Fulton Police said the Real-Time Crime Center is expected to open within nine months and will have a direct impact on Camelot.
“This will impact Camelot significantly, as in for the additional license plate readers that are going in the community, we will have surveillance cameras out there and a gunshot detection system," Rogers said.
Many Camelot residents said they want a police substation to deter crime.
“From the substation standpoint, we're always open to conversation and suggestions," Rogers said.
Perry and some other residents feel part of the blame for what's happening on the property belongs to the Homeowner's Association. She said the community is hiring a lawyer right now to file a lawsuit against the HOA.
We spoke to the HOA president on the phone Wednesday evening, who said the board will send a statement Thursday.