ATLANTA — On Friday there was a double shooting that killed a brother and sister. Saturday police found a man with multiple gunshot wounds in a vehicle. An ambulance took him to the hospital where he died. Early Sunday morning, three people were killed in a parking lot, one was in a wheelchair. That’s six homicides citywide in just one weekend. This same weekend, Atlanta passed a grim marker of more than 100 homicides in 2021 so far.
This is the earliest in the year Atlanta has seen 100 homicides in the past few years. According to data on the department’s website, during the 34th week of the year, Atlanta had 61 murders in 2018, 63 murders in 2019, and 92 murders in 2020.
This is what we know about the six homicides.
Three men were shot and killed near a popular southwest Atlanta lounge early Sunday morning. This incident marked at least 103 homicides in the city of Atlanta so far in 2021.
It happened in the parking lot of a multi-business plaza at the corner of McDaniel Street and Whitehall Street shortly after 12:30 a.m., police said. The businesses that occupy the plaza include Kulture Kutz, The Wing Shack, and Kiss Ultra Lounge.
Kiss Ultra Lounge was the only establishment open at the time of the shooting, but police stressed that it did not happen within the premises of the business.
The 100th homicide happened Saturday afternoon on Magnolia Way NW where a man was found shot inside a vehicle and later died at the hospital.
The Atlanta Police Department said they responded to a person shot call just before 4:00 p.m. and found the man with multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators have not released additional details.
A brother and sister were killed while sitting in a car in what police called a targeted shooting. Now officers have made an arrest. The shooting happened on Friday, Aug. 20 at around 8:45 p.m. on Sells Ave. SW. Atlanta Police said Robert Bankston Jr. and his big sister Cedrika Smith were pronounced dead on the scene.
A 35-year-old man is charged with their deaths and is now in the Fulton County Jail. He faces three charges: Murder, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
Police have not released many details about the shooting, only saying it happened after a dispute. Major D’Andrea Price was on the scene Friday night and said the victims lived nearby.