Police: 1 child, 3 adults injured in Old Fourth Ward shooting

ATLANTA - A 9-year-old girl is recovering after she was injured in a shootout in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward Tuesday night. Three other people were also hurt when the gunfire rang out inside a park where several children were playing.

Witnesses told FOX 5 at least three armed men came out of nowhere and opened fire, aiming toward the playground off Boulevard in northeast Atlanta.

"They just kept shooting. They didn't even care there were kids out here. It's not right. That girl should be in school today, not at a hospital" said Josh Williams, who took cover when the shots were fired.

Atlanta Police were called to the 400 block of Boulevard just after 8 p.m. Witnesses initially reported a child was wounded. Officers soon found the 9-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to the right thigh. She was rushed to Atlanta Medical Center, which is located less than two blocks from the crime scene. 

Investigators said two men with gunshot wounds arrived at Atlanta Medical Center a short time later. A 20-year-old woman was found at the apartment complex suffering from minor graze.

 All four victims are expected to survive, but neighbors are fearful and outraged that the shooting unfolded in the middle of a playground.

"Those swings are for kids! Kids! No one else plays here except kids! This space should be off limits! What kind of person runs through a playground shooting? A worthless one, that's who. This is such a shame. Don't these kids lives matter?" asked Avis Carr, as she stood in the middle of the playground.

Carr is one of many people in the neighborhood who believe the shooting stems from a shoot-out the night before at Club Crucial several miles away in northwest Atlanta. Investigators told FOX 5 they are still trying to determine if the crimes are connected. No one was injured in that shooting on August 29, but more than a dozen people were reportedly shooting at each in the parking lot of the nightclub on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

"At this point, we don't even know the motive of the shooting. We're still trying to figure all of this out. It's possible some people may have even shot back. All we know is that we've recovered at least 15 shell casings. We'll get more once we can talk to the older shooting victims," said Major Paul Guerrucci. 

Police believe the actual shooting happened at 411 Parkway. Investigators are not sure of the target, what prompted the shooting and don’t have any information on possible suspects.