ATLANTA — An Atlanta firefighter is being hailed a hero.
The East Atlanta Village neighborhood, which is close to Fire Station 13, has seen an uptick in crime, with many businesses burglarized multiple times, according to neighbors. But a firefighter took a stand and said not on his watch.
“Lucky Station 13 which is where that firefighter works -- I love our firefighters,” said Atlanta City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari.
She is among those praising Capt. Claude Vincent Person after he helped catch a burglary suspect.
“While we were at shift change, two ladies approached the station and stated that there was a burglary in progress across the street,” Person said as he described the incident.
Person jumped into action, calling police and stepping into help.
“I turned off lights to make sure that nobody could see inside where we were and then I slipped outside and hid behind some bushes just to see if I could see who the person was," Person said. "And he came out the front door and started walking down the street and he had some merchandise in his hands."
He said he followed the suspect from a safe distance until police arrived and took the suspect into custody.
Police records show the same suspect had burglarized and vandalized three other businesses -- including Emerald City Bagels.
“Thank goodness that he was there and he saw it and he helped the police apprehend the guy,” said Deanna Halcrow, a cofounder of Emerald City Bagels.
Bakhtiari said Person’s actions are in line with the community’s efforts to help each other.
“A lot of what happens in east Atlanta is you have a community that’s stepping up to fill the gaps that are not being filled by the systems that are in place and I’m very, very, very lucky to be able to represent this community,” Bakhtiari said.
Person said he believes the business owners in the area are his family and just like he would protect family, he wanted to protect them as well.
“I was just tying to do what’s right, what my parents told me to do that’s it," Person said in response to being called a hero.