Atlanta leaders seek to shut down gas station amid continued violence
Atlanta City Council member vows action against violent crimes at gas stations
Gas stations are hot spots for crime and those who live near them say they have had enough of the violence. Monday morning, a father of two was stabbed to death at a Texaco in southwest Atlanta. A city council member plans to take the issue of crime at convenience stores to court.
ATLANTA - It was a violent Monday morning in southwest Atlanta, where police say one man was stabbed to death at a Texaco gas station on MLK Jr. Drive, and the person who stabbed him, was shot at an apartment complex nearby.
According to authorities, the two incidents were related. While the investigation is ongoing, city leaders say residents who live nearby have had enough of the violence.
Atlanta City Council member Andrea Boone told FOX 5 crime on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive has gotten out of control and residents are afraid of what might happen next.
"This gas station has been a concern in the Peyton Place, Peyton Farm community," she said.
The stabbing and shooting incidents have prompted renewed calls to shut down businesses in the community deemed "nuisance properties".
"It’s about holding these businesses accountable," the District 10 city councilwoman explained on Monday. "Something must be done because this community is completely fed up."
Boone said that kind of senseless violence isn’t what Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of along the street bearing his name.
"It’s open prostitution, homicides, drug sales," she went on.
However, it has been an ongoing issue at several convenience stores in the area — most notably the Citgo gas station about two miles up the road, where she said Atlanta police have been called to almost 100 times since January.
"Ninety-eight calls to 3657 MLK Jr. Drive...we have to change what is going on along the MLK Jr. Drive corridor," she stated.
Boone said those calls to the Citgo are the reason she and dozens of others plan to take the issue of crime in the community to court this Thursday.
"We hope that that property will be declared a nuisance. We are hoping that the solicitor’s office and the judge will see that this property needs to be closed and we need tenants in our community that care about the community," she said.
Community members will meet at 8 a.m. Thursday at the CT Martin Recreational Center and travel by bus to the City of Atlanta’s Municipal Court building to make their case.
The city councilwoman said she and other council members are also continuing their push for convenience store owners and tenants to be held accountable for happens on their property.