A shooting at The Hills at Fairington Apartments on Fairington Road left one person wounded Wednesday, drawing a heavy DeKalb County Police presence and a news helicopter overhead as officers taped off most of a building at the complex. The scene unfolded in Stonecrest, where police say they are still investigating what led to the gunfire.
DeKalb County Police were called to the complex and confirmed they are investigating an incident at the apartment property, according to WSB-TV. NewsChopper 2 captured footage showing police tape blocking off most of a building as officers worked the scene, and as of Wednesday afternoon, police had not released details about what led to their response. 11Alive reported that one person was shot during the incident, which pulled a major police response and its own helicopter coverage to the complex.
WSB-TV noted that Channel 2 Action News was still working to learn more details about the incident and planned to provide updates starting at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The condition of the person shot and whether a suspect is in custody remain open questions.
A Complex With a Troubled Recent History
Wednesday's shooting is far from the first violent incident at The Hills at Fairington. In September 2025, a 48-year-old woman named Stephanie Wiley was killed and her adult son was injured in an intentional arson fire at the complex, a case that led to the arrest of her ex-boyfriend in Alabama on murder and arson charges, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Hoodline covered that fire in a prior deadly blaze report.
Gun violence has also struck inside the complex itself. In July 2024, a 31-year-old man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after suffering a life-threatening gunshot wound during an evening shooting on Athena Lane at The Hills at Fairington, the outlet's report noted. The pattern has continued along the surrounding commercial corridor as well.
Fairington Road's Broader Pattern of Gunfire
In April, DeKalb County police responded to a late-night shooting in the 5900 block of Fairington Road near a local barbecue restaurant, where two men who did not know each other were both wounded by an unknown shooter, per the same outlet's reporting. The following month, a man was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot outside a gas station in that same 5900 block before seeking help nearby on Tiburon Drive, according to WSB-TV.
Beyond gunfire, tenants at The Hills at Fairington have separately voiced frustration over persistent property crime and infrastructure failures, including stolen hot water heaters and stripped copper wiring that caused unit flooding and daylong water outages, Hoodline reported in a June report on tenant complaints. Those maintenance and security concerns add another layer of unease for residents already living near a corridor with a recurring history of shootings.
County Investments in Police and Infrastructure
DeKalb County has taken steps to address public safety resources countywide. WABE reported a $10 million county investment in police salaries and recruitment. Separately, county procurement records show DeKalb authorized a $500,000 intergovernmental agreement with the City of Stonecrest to build dedicated sidewalk infrastructure along the Fairington Road corridor.
Under Georgia law, committing an assault with a deadly weapon or firing a gun toward another person constitutes felony aggravated assault, a charge carrying a statutory prison sentence of 1 to 20 years upon conviction, according to Georgia Code § 16-5-21 as outlined by FindLaw. No arrest or charges have been announced in connection with Wednesday's shooting, and the identity of the shooter has not been released.
The neighborhood's history of violence stretches back further still. In 2021, a DeKalb County mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against property management companies after her 6-year-old daughter drowned in a creek adjacent to The Hills at Fairington Apartments in 2019, according to Patch. As DeKalb County Police continue investigating Wednesday's shooting, residents along Fairington Road are once again left waiting for answers about safety in a corridor that has seen far too many emergency responses in recent years.
