Gunfire tore through apartments and parked cars at the Village of Castleberry Hills complex on McDaniel Street SW in Southwest Atlanta shortly before 1:45 a.m. Thursday, sending officers to the scene where crime scene investigators would remain for several hours. No injuries were reported, according to Atlanta police.
Officers were called to the complex near Northside Drive after reports of shots fired, and neighbors told FOX 5 Atlanta that multiple apartments and vehicles had been struck by bullets. A FOX 5 crew saw several shell casings scattered in the roadway inside the complex, and evidence markers were placed around a vehicle near the front gates as investigators worked the scene. Police have not said how many people opened fire, whether the shooter or shooters lived at the complex, or what led to the shooting, and the outlet cautioned that the story is developing and information is subject to change.
A Complex With a Troubled Recent History
This is not the first time gunfire has erupted at the Village of Castleberry Hills. In January, a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed inside the same complex on Greensferry Avenue after a man mishandling a loaded firearm caused it to accidentally discharge, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported the man was booked into Fulton County Jail on involuntary manslaughter charges. The property sits adjacent to the Atlanta University Center academic cluster, redeveloped on the site of the historic John Hope Homes public housing project.
The broader McDaniel Street corridor has logged a string of violent incidents over the past year. In February, an 18-year-old high school senior was hospitalized after bullets tore through her bedroom in a McDaniel Street home, leaving her with a broken shoulder, a broken rib and a damaged lung, per WSB-TV; security cameras in the area failed to capture the shooter. Hoodline previously covered that stray-bullet shooting. In December 2025, officers responded to the 1000 block of McDaniel Street SW after a 50-year-old man was shot shortly after 1 a.m., WSB Radio reported.
Police Sweep Turned Up Guns and a Gang Member
Just last month, an Atlanta Police canvass following a shooting at 369 McDaniel St. SW led to the arrest of a known gang member and two other wanted individuals, along with the recovery of five firearms, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Officers reportedly used loudspeakers to compel a suspect to exit an apartment during that sweep, a story Hoodline detailed in its report on the McDaniel Street police sweep.
Zone 3 Stands Alone as Crime Rises
Mid-2026 crime data from the Atlanta Police Department showed that even as overall crime fell citywide, Zone 3, which covers Southwest Atlanta and McDaniel Street, was the only police zone in Atlanta where overall crime increased, rising 11 percent and driven by a 42 percent spike in aggravated assaults, according to 11Alive. Property crimes and vehicle thefts fell substantially across most other zones during the same period, per that report.
Under Georgia Code § 16-7-22, discharging a firearm into a building or vehicle in a manner that endangers human life constitutes first-degree criminal damage to property, a felony carrying one to ten years in prison, and up to 20 years if critical infrastructure is affected, according to WomensLaw.org. Separately, Georgia Code § 16-5-60 defines reckless conduct as a misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail for consciously disregarding a substantial risk to others' safety, per ATC Law Firm, though no charges have been announced in Thursday's shooting.
Redevelopment Plans Continue Amid the Violence
The gunfire comes even as the city pushes ahead with plans to reshape the corridor. In June 2025, the City of Atlanta and Invest Atlanta issued a request for proposals to redevelop a city-owned vacant property at 1029 McDaniel Street, aiming to add ground-floor neighborhood retail and affordable middle housing to a site that previously housed a historic pharmacy and corner store, according to the City of Atlanta. For now, the investigation into Thursday's shooting remains ongoing, with Atlanta police yet to say what sparked the gunfire or whether more than one shooter was involved.
