Atlanta Police are searching for arsonists they say set fire to construction equipment at a Kirkwood townhome development site to protest the city’s controversial public safety training center.
Mayor Andre Dickens said on the social media site X that the shooting happened at the Peachtree Center food court. Atlanta police said in a post that all four who were shot were alert and conscious. One of the four is believed to be the suspect, authorities said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters and opponents of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center clashed with law enforcement on the campus of Emory University this morning with 28 arrests being made.
Mayor Andre Dickens sent a message on Wednesday to "Stop Cop City" protesters and “anarchists” who continue to commit arson, damage property, and trespass: “Newsflash: The training center is well on its way. We will continue and complete it this year. Construction is happening on the site every day.”
The incident occurred before dawn on Saturday morning. Several social media accounts connected to the “Stop Cop City” movement claimed responsibility and said more acts of civil disobedience were forthcoming.
Deputy Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks told the finance committee that the frequency and intensity of the attacks in opposition to the training center – including a recent defacing of Manuel’s Tavern – have contributed to an increase in the estimated cost for the training center from $90 million to $109.6 million, according to a news release.
An independent autopsy released by lawyers for the family of a man who died in a bedbug-infested cell in a Georgia jail's psychiatric wing says that he "died due to severe neglect." Lashawn Thompson died in September, three months after he was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
Friday on Political Rewind: Former President Donald Trump's presence at the state GOP convention highlights the rift between Gov. Brian Kemp's supporters and MAGA Republicans. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene launched a campaign to impeach President Biden and other administration officials. Also: the latest on "Cop City" protests.
Tuesday on Political Rewind: Lawyers for the former chair of the Coffee County GOP filed a motion claiming the Fulton County investigation violated her rights. Plus, Atlanta Democrats want the DOJ to investigate the death of Manuel Teran.
Black police chiefs, commissioners, sheriffs and commanders from across the country are set to meet this weekend in Detroit for the annual CEO symposium of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
Civil liberties groups and defense attorneys are outraged at the domestic terrorism charges that have been levied against 23 people who were arrested after a masked group attacked an Atlanta-area police training center construction site. Critics have accused officials of levying disproportionate charges to scare off others from joining the "Stop Cop City" movement.
Police arrested over 30 people Sunday and charged 23 with domestic terrorism after protestors at the proposed police training facility southeast of downtown Atlanta set fire to vehicles including a police car and construction equipment. Several Atlanta faith leaders gathered Monday afternoon at City Hall demanding the city stop construction of the new public safety training center.