ATLANTA — Atlanta Police are geared up for the worst this holiday weekend, just in case. They want to try to minimize potential threats to public safety during the city’s crime wave.
Tens of thousands of residents and visitors are participating in the annual AJC Peachtree Road Race, and thousands more will attend Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals as the Atlanta Hawks take on the Milwaukee Bucks.
They are big, marquee events in a city that has been plagued for months by a surge of random and violent crime, victimizing visitors and residents alike.
Atlanta Police are experts at securing big events, but they know from experience that perfect security is impossible .Now they are on high alert, again.
This Fourth of July holiday weekend, all Atlanta police officers are working 12-hour shifts.
And APD is activating its Joint Operations Command Center -- extra eyes and undercover intelligence, everywhere.
“Inside our Joint Operation Command Center will be our federal and state partners, as we normally monitor major events inside the city,” said Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant, who is already in the midst of a summer offensive against violent crime.
He is determined to protect the more than 30,000 people running in the annual AJC Peachtree Road Race. The race is spread over two mornings this year, instead of just one. He also wants to keep safe the18,000 fans filling State Farm Arena downtown Saturday night to watch the Hawks and Bucks.
Crowded celebrations and events-- taking place this year in a potential powder keg of a city.
Among the armed assaults in Atlanta last weekend alone, robbers shot and wounded two men and a woman who were walking from State Farm Arena to their car. There was also an incident where a drive-by shooter on Piedmont Avenue in Midtown killed one man and wounded two others.
Bryant expressed confidence, during a news conference on Thursday, that APD can handle this weekend.
“So we anticipate a large number of people in our downtown space,” he said, “and we have the resources and partnerships available to respond to any incidents as it relates to that.”
Here's a look at the latest tally by APD:
Shooting incidents in Atlanta, so far this year, are up 41 percent compared with the same period in 2020; and they are up 71 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
Murders are up 45 percent, from 2020, so far, and they are up 54 percent, from 2019, so far.
And during the July 4 weekend in 2020, alone, there were 31 people shot across the city; five of them died.