Stray bullet hits southwest Atlanta man sleeping in bed

ATLANTA - An overnight shooting in a Southwest Atlanta neighborhood sent one man to the hospital. Police said he was hit by a stray bullet.

Residents of Sandlewood Estates said they were startled by the sound of gunshots just after midnight Saturday, but they were even more disturbed to learn that one of those shots hit a neighbor who was in bed sleeping at the time.

"At exactly 12:17 am, I remember because I looked at my TV, we heard gunshots. It was really intense. It woke all of us up," resident Eric Giles told FOX 5.

"I just heard maybe like ten shots and then a car skrrt off," resident Midori Paul recalled.

Atlanta Police said they were called to a home on Sandcove Court at 12:18 a.m. That’s where officers found dozens of shell casings scattered across the pavement and a 58-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm.

The victim told police he was awakened by the sound of the shots and soon after realized he’d been hit. The home next door was also hit. It was an unsettling sequence of events for other residents like Paul.

"It is scary knowing that somebody had gotten shot because you know…you’re not protected because you’re in your house," the woman explained.

Medics rushed the victim to the hospital where he was treated and released. He did not want to speak on camera but did tell FOX 5 he’s lived in the neighborhood for 15 years with his elderly mother and is certain he wasn’t the target of the shooting. That left newer residents like Eric Giles with even more questions.

"For this to happen this close to me literally across the street … it really doesn’t make any sense," Giles told FOX 5.

He said he hopes Atlanta police will have the answers to those questions after a thorough investigation.

"Is there any rhyme or reason? Can cops reveal any type of motive? Just something to make it seem like this won’t happen regularly," Giles said.

While he waits for that confirmation, he said the shooting was a wakeup call to beef up security around his home.

Atlanta police have only released preliminary details at this time. They said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing. If you have any information that could help, give detectives a call.