ATLANTA — A large crowd became unruly early Sunday morning outside an off-campus student housing complex at Georgia State University in Downtown Atlanta.
Numerous videos showed a massive gathering along Piedmont Avenue just before 1 a.m. near a dining hall on campus where cars were seen performing donuts in the middle of the intersection and also where a blue car was captured on video being damaged, with people tapping it and even one person appearing to hop on the hood and kick the windshield causing it to crack.
At the intersection on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, a car was seen doing a burnout before speeding through the middle of the street. A short time later, a heavy police presence with at least six patrol cars was seen controlling the crowd packed into the middle of the street. This happened just outside The Mix Apartments, a student housing complex near campus.
People were also seen dancing on top of cars, as well as continued reckless driving from other vehicles down the middle of the Downtown Atlanta streets. Multiple students at GSU spoke with 11Alive on what they witnessed go down overnight.
"We were just out here having a great time, just enjoying the vibes and next thing you know people jumping out of cars," one student said. Another student said they were trying to "enjoy the fun" when things got crazy in Atlanta.
Other witnesses there said they took off running as soon as they heard gun shots.
Georgia State Patrol released a statement to 11Alive Sunday night saying Atlanta Police told them of street racing that was happening near Courtland Street and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue NE. When they arrived, troopers and officers found street racers blocking off the entire intersection of Memorial Drive and Capitol Avenue.
GSP's air crew was called in to report down to troopers on the ground several cars performing "stunt driving" in the intersection. Troopers were then able to get vehicle descriptions and make traffic stops where they were able to take several suspects into custody. They were charged with reckless stunt driving, troopers said.
The crowd was also gathered around a RaceTrac gas station on Piedmont Avenue -- a spot that is not a stranger to recent crime near campus. On Dec. 4, a Georgia State University student was shot and killed at the same gas station, according to police.
Georgia State University Police Department Chief Anthony Coleman released a statement saying their officers have responded to multiple incidents involving GSU students in the housing corridor along Piedmont Avenue.
He called the behavior displayed by students "disappointing and unacceptable."
Chief Coleman stated they have seen social media posts of parties at off-campus student housing that have led to massive, chaotic crowds in the streets such as the scene Sunday morning.