ATLANTA — A 24-year-old Morehouse senior is celebrating life after a walk in his neighborhood almost cost him his life.
“These 24 hours remind me to be humble, to be blessed, and to be grateful,” said Elisha Talley, who was shot on his way home from the grocery store Easter Sunday.
According to the Atlanta Police Department, the shooting happened around 3 p.m. Sunday, at the intersection of Peachtree Road NE and Oak View Road NE, which is across the street from Phipps Plaza. The incident left three people hurt, including Talley.
“What I thought was me going to the grocery store to prepare Sunday Easter dinner turned into (an) attempted robbery and being shot,” said Talley.
He says he and his friend were approached by two teenagers who asked for change. When Talley and his friend declined, the teens started following them and things escalated.
“A gun was flashed off the hip. Moments later I was smacked on my right side of my face with one of the guns, which then fell into the streets," he said.
Talley described the altercation as a fight for the firearm as he struggled to keep it away from the person who harmed him.
"While we are on the ground the other young man opened fire, actually all at three of us," Talley said.
He said when that second teen stopped shooting, the first teen who was fighting with him and his friend was laying on the ground.
Talley said he and his friend got up and ran to a nearby restaurant for assistance -- but getting help there was also a struggle.
“I understand that you’re trying to protect your patrons but you guys locked me out and left me there. What if someone came back to finish me off,” Talley said.
He explained he eventually was able to get the help he needed. However, the attempted robbery in a busy part of Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood has left residents reflecting on the crime in the area.
“It makes me mad, I grew up in this city. It was Easter, you know on Easter there never used to be killings and stuff like that, people stayed home and chilled out,” said Buckhead resident Evans Scorboraugh.
Another resident said crime doesn't have to be common for people to still be on alert.
“It doesn’t make me nervous, crime can happen anywhere, so it doesn’t bother me too much,” Bridget Crider, another resident said.
As for Talley, he was released from Grady Memorial Hospital but the bullet is still in his foot. He says he was given little to no information about caring for the wound but he's still staying optimistic.
“I just pray for everyone in the situation, my friend, the young man that was involved, I want them to know that we are all brothers," Talley said.