Atlanta Police Department: Updated Statement: Piedmont Road Homicide Investigation

Atlanta GA

18 March, 2021

4:06 PM

Description

Press release from the Atlanta Police Department: 03/18/2021 On March 16, 2021 the Atlanta area experienced a series of despicable acts of violence, leaving eight of our community members dead and one other community member critically injured. It is hard to comprehend what could lead someone to commit such a heinous crime and how someone could show such disregard for life. These deaths impacted all of our first responders as well as our communities, but more importantly, they impacted the victims' families and friends in a way most of us can only imagine. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and friends who had their loved ones taken from them in such a senseless and untimely manner.   The crime spree occurred in two different cities in the Atlanta area, and while the cases are linked by the same perpetrator, our investigations are independent of one another and there are different dynamics to each. One of the differences is that all of the victims in the City of Atlanta were Asian females. The Atlanta Police Department's investigation remains open and we are looking at every angle of this case, including what motivated this individual to choose the locations and victims that he did. While his motivation is important to know, we want to make it clear, there is no explanation that could justify these murders. Atlanta Police Homicide investigators remain hard at work, with the goal of successfully prosecuting the shooter, to hold him accountable for his actions. We want to ensure our communities that the Atlanta Police Department's investigation is far from over and we want to stress that we have not ruled anything out.     Updated summary of our events: On 3-16-2021, at around 5:47 PM, officers responded to a business robbery in progress call at 1916 Piedmont Road in Northeast Atlanta. Upon arrival, officers located 3 females deceased inside the location from apparent gunshot wounds. While still on scene, officers were advised of a shots fired call across the street, at 1907 Piedmont Road. Officers immediately responded and checked the location, finding 1 female who appeared to have been shot and was deceased inside the business.   Atlanta Police Homicide investigators responded to the scene and immediately began their investigation. We were aware of the shootings in Cherokee County and it quickly became apparent our shootings were likely related to theirs. Further investigation revealed video footage from our Video Integration Center placed the suspect's vehicle in the area of our shootings, around the time they occurred. Additionally, surveillance footage viewed by our investigators showed our suspect's appearance closely resembled that of the Cherokee County suspect, who had been taken into custody in Crisp County, Georgia. Based on that evidence, an investigator from APD was sent to the suspect's location to assist with the investigation and share information with Cherokee County investigators.     Having these two shootings occur at massage parlors and with knowledge of Cherokee County's shootings, Zone 2 commanders quickly dispatched officers to check nearby similar businesses and patrols have been increased in those areas.   Please keep in mind the above information is preliminary in nature and is subject to change as the investigation progresses and new information comes to light.   This press release was produced by the Atlanta Police Department. The views expressed here are the author's own.