Atlanta, GA
Slain teen remembered for bringing joy, unity to Atlanta neighborhood
Who killed 16-year-old Rodney Thompson?
The shooting of a 16-year-old on Judy Lane in south Atlanta two days ago. The victim’s family has identified him as Rodney Thompson. Community leaders describe Thompson as a teen with a bright future…Who tried to help his community. Now his family wants to know why he was killed.
ATLANTA – The family of a 16-year-old boy, who was shot and killed on Judy Lane in southwest Atlanta two days ago, has identified him as Rodney Thompson.
Community leaders described Thompson as a teen who had a bright future and who tried to help his community.
“He brought laughter, he brought joy, he brought the family together. And they’re going to miss those smiles and those moments,” said Tekesia Shields, founder of Mothers Against Gang Violence.
That’s how she says Rodney Thompson’s grandmother described him.
She and Atlanta City Council member Antonio Lewis met with Thompson’s grandmother and family on Friday.
Shields says his grandmother wanted her to speak with Fox 5 on her behalf.
She says Thompson was living with his grandmother at the home on Judy Lane where he was shot and killed Wednesday night at around 7 p.m.
“Someone came into the home, it wasn’t a break-in. It was someone that he knew, someone that he trusted, that he thought he trusted, that came into his home. They came into the room where he slept and they just took his life… with that being in their home, they really feel unsafe,” Shields said.
Shields says the family has no idea why someone would want to kill him.
Lewis says that’s why he spent time canvassing the area on Friday.
“My job is to get with the police and try to find some real justice. So that’s why I’m out here today… so we’re putting the word out in the community that folks need to turn themselves in because we’re looking for you and these cameras are truly working,” Lewis said.
This loss hits close to home for Lewis. He says he and Thompson got their hair cut at the same barbershop and would often talk.
Lewis says just this week he was working to help Thompson apply for jobs at the barbershop.
“On Monday, we got a haircut together at the same barbershop. Rodney told me he filled out an application for a job at Crystal’s. He told me he was disappointed because he didn’t get the job. While I was there, I grabbed his cell phone, opened it up, and I helped him fill out the application to the ATL Year of the Youth [Summer Youth Employment] program. And that’s a job that we knew he could get,” Lewis said.
Lewis called Thompson a “phoenix,” a life full of potential cut short by violence.
“It hurts… I cry for every young black boy that’s killed, because I knew they deserved a second chance, I knew they deserved to grow old,” Lewis said.
Shields says this family wants the people responsible to do the right thing and give them the justice and peace they deserve.
“The message is to come forward… they definitely want you to come forward. They definitely want to bring peace to the family, and they do not want retaliation in the community,” Shields said.
The family is asking anyone with information to call APD at 404-614-6544.
Atlanta, GA
Video shows person of interest in deadly Atlanta shooting, police say
Atlanta shooting clip shows person of interest
Atlanta police released surveillance video of a person of interest after 37-year-old Joseph Williams was found fatally shot inside a crashed vehicle Monday night, according to police.
ATLANTA – New video released by the Atlanta Police Department shows a person of interest in the deadly shooting along Joseph E. Boone Boulevard NW earlier this week.
What we know:
It happened at 7:41 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard NW. According to the Atlanta Police Department, officers found a man in a car that had been involved in a single-vehicle accident about 0.5 miles east of the location.
The man, later identified as 37-year-old Joseph Williams, had been shot. He was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition, where he died.
What we don’t know:
The identity of the person of interest shown in the released video remains unknown.
Investigators have not yet determined the motive behind the shooting.
Additionally, police have not disclosed whether any suspects have been identified or if a weapon has been recovered.
What you can do:
Anyone with information about whom the person of interest in the video may be or who may have information about the shooting should call the Atlanta Police Department’s Homicide Unit directly at 404-546-4235 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Atlanta Police Department, who explained how we got it by releasing surveillance video and investigative details, as well as Crime Stoppers.
Atlanta, GA
Keisha Lance Bottoms says Georgia voters care more about costs than
Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms captured the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary with 56% of the vote on Tuesday, surpassing the majority threshold needed to avoid a runoff and positioning herself as the Democratic nominee heading into the November general election.
“We have a very powerful campaign that’s ready to take on whoever comes out of this Republican primary in November,” Bottoms said in an interview with CBS News “The Takeout” following her victory.
Bottoms said the margin was no accident. Her campaign ran as if it were trailing throughout the race, and she said she believed internally they would clear 50%.
“We always said that we were going to run like we were 30 points down and not 30 points ahead,” she said.
On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and businessman Rick Jackson are headed to a June 16 runoff after neither cleared the majority threshold in Tuesday’s primary. Bottoms did not draw much of a distinction between the two.
“Just in terms of their running toward Trump’s MAGA agenda, they’re equally awful in that regard,” she said. “That’s not what the people of this state want to hear. They want to hear how we are going to address these everyday issues that are impacting their lives: cost of living, access or lack thereof to healthcare, education, access to jobs.”
If elected in November, Bottoms would make history as the first African American woman ever elected governor of Georgia and, she believes, the first in the entire country. She said the historical significance of that milestone is not what is driving her campaign.
“I don’t go around thinking about the label of being a Black woman,” she said. “What I’m thinking about right now is just how I’m going to deliver for the people across the state. It’s just about how will you make my life better and why should I vote for you.”
Bottoms also noted that the governor’s race is an open seat; Gov. Brian Kemp is not on the ballot, which she said gives Democrats an advantage heading into November.
“There are some inherent challenges when you go against an incumbent,” she said. “The fact that it’s an open seat gives us an even better opportunity to pick up the seat.”
On policy, Bottoms outlined several priorities she said she would pursue on day one as governor. She said she would extend the current gas tax suspension to provide relief at the pump, and pledged to expand Medicaid, a move she said would reverse the closure of nine rural hospitals and stop Georgia from leaving federal dollars on the table.
“Half our counties don’t even have OB-GYNs and pediatricians,” she said. “People are having to travel sometimes upwards of an hour or more to receive specialized care.”
Bottoms also called for increasing the state’s average starting teacher pay from $43,000 to $60,000 a year and eliminating state income taxes for teachers. On housing, she pledged to work with builders who specialize in affordable and workforce housing through low-interest loans and grants for homeowners.
Atlanta, GA
Flash flood warning issued as heavy rain falls across Atlanta
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Heavy downpours in the city of Atlanta has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning and had closed all lanes of the Downtown Connector.
The rain caused several issues on roads. There are also reports of flooding along North Avenue in the city.
>> First Alert Radar
An Atlanta News First viewer showed video of a Waymo, an autonomous car, stuck in the flooded waters along North Avenue near Piedmont Avenue.
>> Latest Forecast
The northbound lanes of the Downtown Connector were closed between Freedom Parkway and Peachtree and Pine streets exits since after 5 p.m. Shortly after 6:30 p.m., traffic started moving again.
The National Weather Service is expected to upgrade the flood warning to “considerable.”
Some areas in Downtown Atlanta saw more than 2-inches and up to 3-inches of rain fall in a short period of time, according to First Alert Meteorologist Patrick Pete.
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