ATLANTA — From unforgettable moments to stories that sparked conversations, these were the metro Atlanta news highlights of 2024 that captured your attention and kept the community engaged.
See the year’s most impactful highlights below.
Metro Atlanta homeowner Warren Kale found the perfect tool shed for his backyard. He spent over $9,000 on the shed at the Home Depot in Cartersville. However, it was just the start of Kale's frustrating shopping experience.
“I went there on September 9 to make that purchase. Total bill was $9,058.03, so I used my debit card,” he said.
However, days later, when Kale had not heard back from Home Depot about the shed or his money, he went to the store to ask questions.
“They said there was a glitch in the computer, that my money had gone somewhere, but they didn’t know where,” he added.
After 52 days of trying to recover his money, Kale contacted the 11Alive Help Desk.
Read Kale's full story online here. You can also watch as Kale shares his experience in the video below:
On April 8, 2024, the nation was dazzled by a total solar eclipse. While Georgia was not within the path of totality, we still had a good show after the forecast for cloud cover improved.
Here's a recap of the eclipse timeline in Georgia from that day:
- The eclipse began at 1:45 p.m. in Georgia
- The eclipse peaked at roughly 3:04 p.m. in Georgia
- The eclipse ended around 4:21 p.m. in Georgia
Additionally, check out the stunning photos from the eclipse across the Peach State:
Photos | 2024 solar eclipse in Georgia
Courtney Reese, 32, was shot and killed on the night of Aug. 20, 2024, along Springside Drive off Cleveland Avenue in southeast Atlanta.
11Alive's Cody Alcorn obtained a 27-second video clip from a Ring camera security system, which allegedly captured the deadly shooting. The video is too graphic to show, but you can see a tall figure who appeared to be dressed in white and wearing a hooded sweatshirt. The person appeared to walk up to Reese, who was standing outside a home.
In the video, you can hear Reese saying, "Please. I don't..." As she pleads with the individual, you see the person raise his hands and shoot at point-blank range.
Reese leaves behind four children: three girls who are 13, nine and six years old, and an 11-year-old son. Her aunt said Reese's sister was also killed in a shooting earlier in the year in DeKalb County.
On Nov. 14, 2024, the Department of Justice announced its investigation of horrific findings into the Fulton County Jail after years of controversy regarding conditions inside the facility.
“Our investigation finds longstanding, unconstitutional, unlawful and dangerous conditions that jeopardize the lives and well-being of the people held there,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said at a news conference.
In July 2023, the federal investigation was launched to examine the jail's living conditions, detainees' access to medical and mental health care and use of excessive force by staff.
Officials described the conditions as "long-standing, unconstitutional, unlawful and dangerous.”
Read the full story on the DOJ's investigation findings online here. You can also watch the Justice Department's full news conference in November in the video below:
On the morning of Sept. 4, 2024, lives were forever changed at Apalachee High School in Barrow County. On that day, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said at 10:20 a.m., the Barrow County Sheriff's Office received alerts about reports of an "active shooter."
During a news conference later that day, the GBI confirmed two students and two teachers were killed. The GBI identified the victims as the following:
The GBI also identified the accused shooter as Colt Gray, who was a student at Apalachee High School. Colt Gray was indicted by a grand jury and faces 55 charges, including felony and malice murder charges. He has entered a not guilty plea.
On Aug. 29, 2024, security guards employed by a third-party contractor at the Fulton County Jail walked off the job.
At a news conference, Sheriff Pat Labat said Strategic Security Corp. made a decision, which the sheriff described as "regrettable," to text workers to walk off the job, despite previously making a written decision it would have workers pull off the job the next day.
"Unfortunately and regrettably, at around 2:15 today, company employees were told to vacate their jobs, abandon their position and not to come into work tonight," Labat said at the time.
11Alive's Angelina Salcedo spoke to the Strategic Security Corp's CEO over the phone before and after Labat's news conference. Joseph Sordi explained the issue was solely budgetary.
"It's already a tough situation working in the Fulton jail given everything that goes on there. If they come to the table with an amicable solution, we're more than happy to reinstate the guards. We've been presenting them with amicable solutions for over 8 months now; we regrettably had to make this decision today," Sordi explained.
You can watch the sheriff's press conference in the video below:
On Dec. 17, 11Alive learned the outstanding balance was paid. Strategic Security Corp. CEO Joseph Sordi confirmed to 11Alive that a payment was wired Dec. 13 and officially cleared on Monday, Dec. 17.
On Oct. 18, 2024, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, who co-founded the notorious drug trafficking organization Black Mafia Family, was released from federal prison.
Flenory, 56, was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison following his 2008 conviction for drug trafficking and money laundering.
Demetrius Flenory and his brother, Terry Flenory, ran one of the country’s largest drug operations during the late 80s, 90s and early 2000s.
11Alive's Erica Murphy reported on historians and attorneys' reactions to Big Meech's release. Read the full reaction story online here.
RELATED: Drug kingpin Demetrius 'Big Meech' Flenory leaves federal prison for a residential program in Miami
Back in March 2024, Chick-fil-A announced it would be making a slight change to its chicken.
The Atlanta-based fast-food chain said it shifted from a No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) to No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM) in order o "maintain supply of the high-quality-chicken you expect from us."
On its website, Chick-fil-A previously explained that NAE chicken means that no antibiotics were ever used to raise the animal.
In September 2024, a judge denied an emergency petition by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed to stop the Georgia Senate Committee on Special Investigations from enforcing two subpoenas.
The move was largely procedural, as Fulton County Superior Judge Shukura Ingram noted the emergency request was for an injunction related to subpoenas for the Sept. 13 meeting of the committee -- and, with Sept. 13 having passed, the injunction was no longer necessary.
"As an initial matter... the time for the production commanded in the subpoenas in question has passed," Judge Ingram's order stated.
Missing Hall County 12-year-old found with 34-year-old man she met online, deputies say
The search for a missing Hall County girl spanned across several states for nearly two months. On July 25, 2024, authorities said the 12-year-old was found in Dover, Ohio, with a 34-year-old man whom she is believed to have met online.
Investigators believe the child had been communicating with the man via Facebook and had told him she was unhappy and wanted to leave home. At a news conference after she was found, Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch reiterated that the 12-year-old was the victim.
The suspect, was later indicted in the case. Read more about the charges he faces here.