City officials responded to a continued spike of violence in the city. Tuesday morning, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Police Chief Rodney Bryant addressed four days of violence which involved several shootings that left more than 20 people injured and four dead people. One of the victims was 15-year-old Diamond Johnson, who was shot and killed while at the Waffle House in Glenwood Saturday night.
To help combat the issue, Mayor Bottoms shared that she is creating a small working group to make recommendations about what can be done about the crime surge. In addition, Bottoms voiced her support for interim Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant and announced that she would submit his name to The Atlanta City Council as permanent chief of Atlanta police to confirm his position.
Bottoms also suggested that stricter gun laws should be considered by state lawmakers saying, "Out of all the states, our laws are some of the most lax." The Mayor continued saying, "There are too many guns on our streets and too many people in our communities who don't have regard for basic human life." The spike in crime during the pandemic has impacted the city. Atlanta Police Department records show 208 shootings in the city as of April 24.
Interim Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant stated that cracking down on street racing is crucial as it will help the department take guns off the street. On Monday, a bill to help law enforcement crackdown on illegal street racing was signed by Governor Brian Kemp.