Homeowners in the Peoplestown neighborhood of Atlanta are furious after they said thousands of shots were fired in a public park on New Year’s Eve.
One neighbor who talked to 11Alive's Chris Hopper said she and her kids found dozens of shell casings at Four Corners Park Monday. She said they ducked and covered as shots rang out.
Gracie Hamlin said shot after shot rang out for hours on New Year’s Eve just outside her Peoplestown home. In a video she posted on her Facebook page, someone is seen shooting what sounds like a semi-automatic weapon. The bright flashes from the tip of the gun were caught on tape.
“(It) Sounded like we were in a war zone,” Hamlin told 11Alive. She said she started hearing shots at the nearby park around 4:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve. She said it escalated at 10:30 p.m. and went well past midnight.
“I honestly thought that the city was under a terrorist attack," Hamlin said. "I literally felt like we were under some kind of assault.”
Hamlin said she and her neighbors called 911 for hours, and they claim no one ever came.
“We literally have thousands of bullets in our park,” she said.
The homeowner said they hear gunshots every New Year’s and Fourth of July, but she said this year was the worst yet. That’s why she decided to post the video to her social media page.
The Atlanta Police Department released a statement to 11Alive News Monday night about the video, which reads as the following:
“It is disturbing to see such disregard for the safety of the public as well as others property. APD has made an effort to reach out to the public in an effort to discourage celebratory gun fire as this practice is dangerous and negligent. We have attempted to drive this issue home every year and yet there are people who blatantly disregard the dangers.
"The safety of the public is our priority as well as the safety of the officers. On New Year’s we receive a large amount of calls in reference to shots being fired and we make a diligent effort to respond to these, with the safety of our officers in mind. We ask anyone with information as to the identities of the people involved in this criminal act call 911 or Crime Stoppers. Remember, if you see something, say something. We rely on the public’s help to bring these, and other criminals to justice.”
Hamlin said she is working with her Atlanta City Councilperson to clean up the park and try and put a stop to the celebratory gunfire.
