Woman Shot in Armed Robbery Near Decatur Square, Police Looking for Suspects
Decatur Metro | June 13, 2011 | 10:18 amFrom Decatur Deputy Police Chief Keith Lee…
On Sunday June 12, 2011 at approximately 12:30 am the Decatur Police Department was notified of an armed robbery in the 300 block of North McDonough Street. [editor’s note: mapped location of incident] The victims were assaulted as they returned to their vehicle, which was parked on the street. The female victim was shot once in the lower abdomen and was treated at DeKalb Medical Center.Medical staff advised they expect a full recovery. The male victim was struck several times, but did not receive serious injuries.
The suspects left the scene in the victim’s vehicle. It is described as follows:
- 2004 Toyota Tacoma
- Red in color
- Tag # BJQ 6805
Anyone observing this vehicle should contact the Decatur Police Department at 404 373-6551.
The suspects were described as two young African-American males with thin builds.
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Where was this, right in front of City Hall?
Street parking near the 300 Block on North McDonough seems to be the spaces next to where the Decatur Farmer’s Market sets up on Saturday mornings.
As in a stone’s throw from the Police department. Wow…
Actually, 300 Block on North McDonough is the stretch between Chick-fil-A and Decatur High School. It is also about a block away from the MARTA station. I’d be willing to bet that you will find these criminals on the MARTA security tapes.
Hopefully it’ll go down like this: These two scumbags will wrap the stolen car around a utility pole and die. Then the victims get a check from their insurance company for a new car.
It will more than likely go down like this: They catch the two guys 2-3 months later involved in another violent crime. They will get 10-20 year sentences, and they will serve 3-5 years due to prison overcrowding. Repeat cycle……
Offspring are not going to like this but downtown Decatur is only walkable for them after 9 PM with an adult present. End of story.
Really sorry for the victims. One should be able to park one’s car in downtown Decatur and feel reasonably safe at 12:30 AM. It’s not like it was 3:00 AM after everything is closed and they were hanging out in a deserted part of town.
Not that my kid is out at 12:30 am, but in this particular case, he most certainly wouldn’t have been a targeted victim (no car, no money).
Well, that’s rather naive. When I was a teenager (with no money or car) I was walking around in a crowded area at 8:30 PM, and was robbed at gunpoint. I had nothing to give, and I was hit over the head with his gun.
I didn’t mean kids can’t be victims of crimes. I just meant that this crime (note “in this particular case”) my kid would not have been a carjacking victim without a car. I also don’t think my presence would have helped my kid in this situation (probably make him more likely to be victimized). He’s also 12–I don’t see him as a great potential target for armed robbery.
Not necessarily true! Didn’t a kid or two get roughed up in Winnona Park a couple years ago by people looking for ipods and phones? Most 12-year olds walk around with those (though not mine, to her chagrin!).
And there was the armed robbery of a couple of teens on the Square a few years ago, right? Or same incident?
Mine doesn’t have those things either. Sure things can happen to kids and adults but I still like my chicken and my kid to be “free-range.”
So long as killing people is bang-bang easy people are going to get bang-bang shot. Even in front of Karass’ house. End of story.
The real news is you got the car’s description and license plate. Plus a reasonable description of the perps. (Hopefully the victims were able to go into more detail — very important if you’re ever a crime victim. A clear, accurate description gives police reasonable cause to stop someone fitting the description. A general “thin build black guys under 30″ doesn’t — it fits too many folks.)
These kids are going to be caught, and yes I’m predicting right now they’re going to be kids.
The reason the description of the vehicle was so good is that it was the victim’s vehicle. I imagine it will be found abandoned somewhere and hopefully the perps will have left enough clues behind to identify themselves.
maybe decatur’s new fingerprinting software will help find these guys. seems like it’s already been well worth the investment.
Not long ago the armed robbery in Oakhurst Village now this downtown. Similar time of night. Seems like something for our police force to focus on. I prefer they focus on this more than teenager hi-jinx and parents trying to get back into DHS graduation after they had to leave to take an emergency call. More foot/bike patrol in these business districts makes sense to me. That’s where the people are late night.
DPD has officers doing foot and bike patrol in the business districts as their primary dedicated function. As for the graduation, I’m guessing those officers were on extra duty and were not taken off of patrol duty. And, “teenager hi-jinx” are what lead to this kind of thing, so that’s why they spend time on them also.
Well said Smith…
Why wasn’t this in the paper?!
You’ll have to pose that question to the AJC.
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/couple-carjacked-woman-shot-975681.html?cxtype=rss_news_82007&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
It’s in the Darien paper. Armed carjacking and attempted murders aren’t too common there.
This is so sad! The article in Patch gives more detail ! This poor couple was visiti g from St Simons- so sad! And the chief says this is not a typical pattern- who cares! It will be if something is not done! A lot of people around here go to restaurants around here until 12:30–I am in shock this happened! I do not got to EAV late because I worry about this???
Come on Decatur- schools and safety first then beer…
“Come on Decatur- schools and safety first then beer…”
What exactly are you saying here? That more public resources are being directed towards…beer?
One of the reasons that crimes like this are relatively rare downtown is because there are people around–and a many of them may in fact have been drinking beer at Brick Store, Leons, etc. It’s the whole safety-in-numbers thing. To attribute a crime (or even several crimes) to misplaced priorities makes absolutely no sense in this case.
Can’t claim this one just happened in unincorporated South Dekalb in a “Greater Decatur” zip code this time, unfortunately, since it happened a block from City Hall and across the street from Decatur High School.
This sort of thing can happen anywhere, but the police need to get ahold of it quick. If we get the reputation as being unsafe everything we have worked for as a city over the past 10-15 years could evaporate very quickly.
What blows my mind, beside the fact that this happened, is that there are more than 7 times the comments and outrage in the “walmart coming to suburban plaza” post.
Denial. I wish I were better at it.
Don’t read too much into that. A Walmart topic attracts whiners, humorists, banter and just plain old gossipers. The shooting is obviously more important, but somber and reflective. It leaves you a little speechless.
Very well put, UDog. It’s been troubling me that this topic seems overlooked, but then again there really isn’t much to say. Hope the victims have a speedy recovery and the thugs involved are brought to justice quickly.
“What blows my mind, beside the fact that this happened, is that there are more than 7 times the comments and outrage in the “walmart coming to suburban plaza” post.”
At the risk of sounding callous, the fact is that Wal-Mart coming to Decatur will have far more effect on mine and most other residents’ lives than this crime. Given that, it is no surprise to me that the Wal-Mart thread would generate more response. Unless there is a case to be made about poor policing, then I don’t know what can be offered here other than condolences to the victims.
Page views for the two post are actually quite similar, so don’t mistake # of comments for interest in the topic.
I think the fewer comments in this thread don’t indicate disinterest, but actually a general lack of panic amongst the general populous. The only way I could see this post’s comments coming close to a more casual Wal-Mart convo is if people were freaking out.
+1
Brianc- not beer itself , just that people are commenting more about beer issues on here, growlers , voting, etc, all positive posts- and it seems that school and safety seem to be negative posts… That’s all- definitely not towards the partaking, just priority of what should be taken care of first around here…
What’s being yakked about in the discussion threads on this blog, and what’s actually “being taken care of around here” have little, if anything, to do with each other. Each has its place, but don’t confuse the two.
Decatur = Mayberry meets Berkley meets Compton
I’ve been living here for three years and absolutely love Decatur and couldn’t see myself living anywhere else in GA. That being said, I am always shocked and saddened when violent crime hits Decatur. It makes me stop and reconsider my lover for this town and evaluate the prospects of raising my three young children here. I do not comb the police blotters or crime logs, but since I’ve been here I can think of many examples of violent crime that hit close to home: armed robbery of Kroger, armed robbery of Fellinis, at least two armed robberies of pedestrians in downtown Decatur, the recent carjacking and shooting in downtown Decatur, at least two armed robberies in downtown Oakhurst, home invasions in Winnona Park, carjacking on Columbia by seminary, etc. I know we live very close to low income neighborhoods and are part of the greater Atlanta area and that crime will inevitably come in from these areas, but it is still shocking and depressing when it happens. I would have no problem in allocating some of my high taxes to put towards increased police patrols and cameras in downtown Decatur and Oakhurst. We need to make safety a priority. We need to send a message to violent criminals that Decatur is not a place to conduct these activities. From what I’ve seen we have a great police force. Let’s give them more tools and resources.
I completely agree that the police need to be vigilant and be held accountable when things to occur. But, these things can happen anywhere. You can’t run and hide to some affluent suburb on the northside of town and escape this. I mean, in Dunwooody someone was gunned down dropping their kids off at day care. Other violent crimes happen all the time in areas you would not expect.
Given, like you said, our proximity to low income areas, our crime rate in Decatur is remarkably low, particularly our crime rate with regard to violent crimes.
The Decatur police should not just shrug their shoulders and say, “well, this happens once a decade, nothing we can do about it.” I don’t believe that is what they are doing. But they do need to take action to make sure people feel safe.
That being said, they can’t be everywhere at every time. I would agree, however, that maybe the police need to have a bigger presence on the south side of the square, particularly on weekend nights, since many people do park over there to go to the Square.
Charlie,
re your willingness to pay more taxes for cameras to monitor the downtown area, there was a debate years back as to whether or not the city would accept a donation to have surveillance cameras placed around the square. While I recall the debate, I have no idea what the city decided to do and whether the cameras have since been installed.
Here’s the original discussion thread about that topic: http://www.decaturmetro.com/2009/08/17/camera-surveillance-for-decatur-square/
Any more details on this? The last armed robbery with a shooting we had near downtown turned out not to be a random encounter — victim and assailant had been in a relationship
. If this really is a case of bandits on the prowl, that’s much more frightening.
Definitely thugs on the prowl. The victims were a couple visting from St. Simons Island. I hate that this happened to tourists in our town.
Well, this story definitely concerns me. With a few occurrences recently, it makes me worry that our wonderful little town could be the next “Virginia Highlands”. We have friends in VH that are not even comfortable walking down their neighborhood street anymore, and I would really hate to see something like that happen here. I have much faith in the Decatur Police Dept, and am hoping they doing everything they can to try to prevent something like this in the future. I agree with the previous post about the south side of the square and increased patrolling on wknd nights, especially around the Marta exit. Hope they are on high alert for this wknds festivities.
Also, I thought we did have cameras, so I am a little disappointed to hear that we don’t.
Any news on this? I take it they haven’t located the truck yet?
And DM,
Maybe people should be freaked out- that is what helps us keep safe and alert around here!
Freaking out? NOT helpful! Folks being engaged, reporting concerns, and taking common sense precautions– YES!
Neighborhood Watch on your street? Join it! There’s not one? Start it!
Suspicious activity? Report it! The non er # is 404-373-6551. Add it to your phone.
Good crime prevention habits? Here’s a handy list of tips:
http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=477
The Crime Prevention Resources page is also very useful:
http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=578
Deputy Police Chief Lee spoke from the heart about this incident at our Decatur Heights Neighborhood Association Meeting on Tuesday. Everyone in the Dept. is very upset that it happened, and they’re using every resource to solve it. (It’s at homicide level of seriousness as far as they’re concerned.)
As far as police coverage goes, there’s an officer per quadrant at all times. (The business district has increased presence during main hours.) To put in perspective how well covered we are: in surrounding jurisdictions there’s one officer covering an area the size of Decatur. The Dept. does monitor trends as an aid in deterring/solving crimes.
In addition to getting information out on Decatur Metro, the Dept. keeps abreast of concerns by following the discussions. Seems to me that constructive suggestions would be more helpful and a whole lot less demoralizing for our officers to read. Just mouthing off serves no one, but if you feel like you just gotta do it, Deputy Chief Lee said he’d prefer folks direct it at him, not the officers because he knows how hardworking and dedicated they are in doing their jobs. (If you have a legit complaint about an officer, file it. He investigates each one.) He also said that he’s always available to talk with citizens, and no concern is too small. His door’s open or call him on his direct line: 678-553-6620. (His calls aren’t screened, and if he’s not in, he will return your call.)
Just in case it wasn’t clear, my lamenting in posts above was about the crime, not the police protection or response. It’s a shame that we have to worry about attempted homicides. I think the Decatur Police Department is competent, dedicated, and great with community outreach and communication. I met an Officer at the Decatur Arts Festival and it turns out she already knows my daughter through some kind of proactive school activity. Not only does that encourage children to trust their police, but it has to be a misbehavior deterrent as well. It’s hard to get away with much if your police and bystanders are all going to recognize you immediately!
An important point.
“Seems to me that constructive suggestions would be more helpful and a whole lot less demoralizing for our officers to read. Just mouthing off serves no one, but if you feel like you just gotta do it, Deputy Chief Lee said he’d prefer folks direct it at him, not the officers because he knows how hardworking and dedicated they are in doing their jobs. ”
Crime is going to happen regardless of location.
Decatur PD has never let me down before and I know they won’t start now.
Compared to surrounding areas, the coverage level we have from DPD is amazing.
Compared to surrounding areas, we have amazingly less crime.
I’m upset this incident happened. However, it could have happened anywhere these days unfortunately.
Some factors I’d like to find out about:
Lighting in the area it happened
Did the perps know the victims or was this random?
I think it’s clear on this blog and in newspaper accounts that it was random. The victims were visitors from St. Simon’s and did not know the perpetrators. Best I know.
As to the lighting, that area is pretty brightly lit by street lights and Chick-Fil-A parking lot lights, which are usually on even when they’re closed.
The lamenting over the crime is shared by citizens & police alike. I’m pretty sure the Dept. holds a high regard for mommas who lay down rules for their young’uns– I do too! The Decatur PD definitely rocks! Their community outreach makes such a lasting impression on all kids– little & big! When folks’ faces light up BECAUSE officers are present, you know there’s something truly special about our Police Dept.!