ATLANTA — One young man thought firecrackers had gone off, then saw his friend crouched and bleeding. Another two ran back to their dorm after hearing gunfire, only to then realize they'd been shot.
A police report obtained Friday by 11Alive offers new details into a shooting last weekend near the library that serves the Atlanta University Center, as young people had gathered to listen to a DJ perform and celebrate Clark Atlanta's homecoming.
Four victims in all were hit and injured by the scattered gunfire. They included two Clark Atlanta students, one of another AUC school, and one non-student, CAU said.
It happened a little after midnight Sunday, at an evidently unofficial homecoming event, and all four people were expected to be OK. So far no arrests have been announced. The police report outlines how the victims reacted in the moments during and after the shooting.
One person described to police listening to the DJ performing for about an hour before he "heard what he thought were firecrackers in the distance."
"As the sound got closer, he realized they were gunshots and he quickly ducked for cover," the report states.
He saw his friend "bent over and thought he was cramping up due to the positioning he was in," but then saw blood coming from the friend.
That person said he thought he heard around 11 rounds in all fired.
The report notes that two of the victims were located in a dorm - one had been shot in his foot, the other in his buttock.
"Both stated they were down in front of the library listening to the DJ when gunshots rang out," the report states. "They ducked for cover and then ran back to their dorm. Once back, they realized they were shot and called 911."
Both went to Grady for treatment.
The report also notes how the fourth victim was at her dorm with a gunshot graze to her foot. And a fifth person flagged police down because bullets had hit his car.
Students told 11Alive's Karys Belger last weekend they were "so nervous" and traumatized after the incident.
"Everybody was just having a good time out here," Ajai Dorsey said. "And the next thing you know, I see everybody running. Just like ten shots or more."