Nearly 200 people, including some from motorcycle clubs, were gathered Sunday at an unlicensed Forest Park commercial site when gunfire erupted, police said. Two people were killed, and two others were seriously injured.
Many questions remain unanswered, but officials said a “large and chaotic crowd” had amassed at the warehouse near Jones Road and 1st Street.
“(It) was a gathering for local motorcycle clubs to come over and have a good time,” Forest Park police Chief Brandon Criss said. “But unfortunately, that good time turned into a disaster.”
Police had not made any arrests as of Monday afternoon.
Officers got the call about shots fired around 5 p.m. When they arrived, they said several motorcyclists were speeding away.
As officers made their way through the crowd, they found multiple victims. Two of them were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others are in a hospital in critical condition, officials said. Police initially said a third person was injured, but Criss, at a Monday news conference, clarified only two were hurt in the incident.
One of the deceased victims was identified as 25-year-old Isaiah Mack by the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office. The second victim was identified by police as Anthony Hearns, of Philadelphia. His age was not provided.
It’s not clear what group or groups organized the event or what type of business was operating at the site, only that Criss said it did not have a current license. The city’s code enforcement office has been tapped to ensure the business doesn’t reopen, he said.
The building sits on a long and narrow lot with vehicles parked within its barbed wire fence. A sign on the facade advertises an auto shop. However, the website and phone number listed are not operational.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Authorities did not say if a suspect or suspects have been identified, but Criss said investigators “are very close on bringing those that are responsible for this crime to justice.”
“Technology” around the city will help them identify those who were present, he said.
“This is not violence that typically occurs in the city of Forest Park,” he added. “We won’t condone it ... that area in which this occurred, it’s a typically quiet neighborhood, and so that type of behavior will not be tolerated in the city.”
It’s still unclear why exactly the shooting happened.
“We do know that there was a verbal altercation, and that’s all I can speak of as it relates to what transpired,” Criss said.
The area is southeast of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and just east of Old Dixie Highway. Forest Park is a city of about 20,000 people in Clayton County.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Forest Park Police Department at 404-366-4141 or the Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com.
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