Police: Man killed in shootout in NW Atlanta

A man was shot and killed early Sunday when he got involved in a dispute between a former couple in northwest Atlanta, leading to a shootout, authorities said.

Atlanta police were called just before 2 a.m. to the shooting at Simpson Plaza in the 700 block of Joseph E. Boone Blvd. The plaza is home to a grocery store, Chinese restaurant, and laundry service business.

When officers arrived, they found the man, who was not publicly identified, suffering from several gunshot wounds. Medical crews took him to the hospital, where he died, police said.

According to investigators, the man had noticed two people, a former couple, getting into a dispute at the plaza. After he got involved, police said, “gunfire erupted between the individuals,” and he was shot. It’s unclear if the victim opened fire.

“The homicide detectives are still trying to determine the ballistics before confirming at this time,” police spokesperson Officer Anthony Grant told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The area is located a short distance from Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Vine City, a neighborhood that, along with English Avenue, has experienced a series of shootings in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Atlanta City Council members and neighborhood leaders gathered together to demand change.

“The list goes on and on,” Shadé Yvonne Jones, chair of NPU-L, said of the violence. “This is a daily problem.”

Dozens of people were at Rodney Cook Sr. Park on Easter Sunday, when gunfire erupted near the basketball courts, leaving a 3-year-old girl grazed by a bullet. A video released by police shows crowds sprinting away from the scene in a desperate attempt to take cover. Last Sunday, not far from the park, one man was killed and another injured in a shooting on M.L.K. Drive.