Atlanta police searching for gunman in shooting inside Piedmont Park
ATLANTA - Police are searching for a gunman responsible for a shooting inside Piedmont Park near the park's Midtown Atlanta entrance Tuesday evening.
People hoping to use the park found crime scene tape blocking the gate along the west side of the park near Willy's Mexicana Grill on 12th Street. The tape could be seen winding along the nearby path inside it.
Atlanta police say officers were dispatched around 9:40 p.m. to the scene and found a 28-year-old man who had been shot.
Few details have been released, but officers say the man was alert, conscious, and breathing while he was being taken to the hospital.
The name of the man has not been released.
The Aggravated Assault Unit is investigating has taken over the investigation and is now trying to figure out what led up to the shooting and come up with a possible suspect description.
The park got a significant security boost with new cameras installed nearly a year ago. That came in the wake of the brutal stabbing death of Katie Janness and her dog Bowie, who were found near the entrance of Piedmont Park at 10th Street and Charles Allen Drive on the south side of the park on July 28, 2021. That case remains unsolved.
"I'm here daily. I make sure I get my 8,000 steps in every day. It's something green and pretty. It's peaceful. It grounds me," Atlanta resident Charles Green remarked.
Green loves strolling through Piedmont Park.
"I'm pretty shocked because I've never seen anything like that in this park. It's one of the reasons I bought near here. It was because of Piedmont Park," the 16-year Midtown resident revealed.
Several residents expressed surprise and concern following the news of the shooting.
Crime scene tape surrounds the scene of a shooting inside Piedmont Park on April 25, 2023. (FOX 5)
"I'm pretty shocked because I've never seen anything like that in this park. It's one of the reasons I bought near here. It was because of Piedmont Park," the 16-year Midtown resident revealed.
Atlanta City Councilman Michael Bond wants to protect those who run, walk their dog and spend time here.
He has pushed for park rangers to physically patrol the parks, and he wants working cameras on the lush grounds. That was not the case when Midtown resident Katie Janess was stabbed to death
"The cameras were not fully operational, since that time it has been remedied. There are 26 cameras in Piedmont Park now, only one is not operational," the veteran member of the council revealed.
Bond even say there should have been an officer assigned to the park Tuesday night.
"The park is still open until 11 p.m. There should have been a ranger on site at Piedmont Park," Bond insisted.
FOX 5 is still trying to get clarification from APD as to whether there was a ranger at the park Tuesday night.
If you have any information that could help with the investigation, call the Atlanta Police Department.