A shooting broke out Wednesday afternoon down the street from Cleveland Avenue Elementary School in south Atlanta, prompting a brief precautionary lockdown at nearby schools before officials lifted it and students were confirmed safe. Police say one person was shot, and the 56-year-old victim died.
According to 11Alive, Atlanta police responded to reports of a person being shot at 5 Cleveland Avenue, and the outlet reported that a 56-year-old man died and a driver was detained. Separately, Atlanta News First reported that police placed the shooting near 5 Cleveland Avenue; its reporters saw officers and crime-scene tape outside a nearby business at 10 Cleveland Avenue. A third account, from a report carried by Yahoo News, described the shooting as occurring in south Atlanta, with police responding to Cleveland Avenue and Macon Drive just after 1:30 p.m., leaving one person injured.
Schools Locked Down, Then Reopened
Atlanta Public Schools officials confirmed the shooting prompted a temporary lockdown at nearby schools, a measure that Atlanta News First reported was brief and precautionary before it was lifted. The Yahoo News report on the incident said school district officials confirmed all students and staff are safe. The victim, a 56-year-old man, died.
District officials are also making changes to dismissal procedures at Cleveland Avenue Elementary, the same report noted, and some bus routes will be rerouted as a precaution, according to Atlanta News First. Officers with the Atlanta Public Schools police department are expected to help students who walk home steer clear of the area. Police believed the victim and suspect knew each other, and a possible suspect vehicle was described; a driver was detained. Witnesses provided information about a dispute, per the Yahoo News report.
A Street With A Recent History Of Violence
Cleveland Avenue has seen gun violence before. In August 2024, Atlanta police investigated a shooting that left three men wounded after officers responded to Cleveland Avenue and Browns Mill Road SE just after 12:15 p.m., according to FOX 5 Atlanta. That earlier shooting wounded a 37-year-old man shot multiple times, a 28-year-old man shot in the arm, and a 19-year-old man shot in the abdomen and hip, the station reported. All three were taken to Grady Hospital, where the 37-year-old remained in critical condition as of early that Friday evening while the other two were listed as stable, FOX 5 Atlanta's report said.
Police detained a driver, and the suspect was taken to police headquarters for questioning; the suspect's identity was not released. Wednesday's shooting and the August 2024 incident both occurred on Cleveland Avenue. Hoodline will update this story as official confirmation becomes available.
