A 16-year-old girl was killed in Piedmont Park in a Saturday night shooting that also injured a 15-year-old girl, Atlanta police said.
Details are limited, but Lt. Christopher Butler confirmed police responded to the Midtown park just after 9 p.m., and the teen was pronounced dead at the scene. The younger girl was shot in the shoulder and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she is said to be stable.
The names of the two teens were not released, and Butler did not know if they knew each other.
No arrests have been made.
The park was busy throughout Saturday for a 404 Day celebration. The event, including musical acts, borrows its name from Atlanta’s first area code and celebrates the city’s culture and community.
The 404 festivities were promoted to run from noon to 9 p.m., according to a flyer posted on the event website. Police said a festival held on the park’s east side, opposite from the shooting location, had a permit and ended around 7:45 p.m., before the shooting.
“At this time, there is no information indicating that the shooting is connected to that event," police said in a statement posted on social media. “Preliminary investigation indicates the incident stemmed from an unpermitted gathering that occurred near the far west end of the park.”
404 Day event organizers could not be reached for comment Saturday night. Butler said police are still trying to determine the nature of the later gathering underway at the time of the shooting.
“It appears there was a gathering inside the park and then during that gathering, gunfire erupted which led to an unfortunate deceased female,” he said.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
He spoke to reporters after midnight at the intersection of 10th Street and Charles Allen Drive, where a main park entrance was closed.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Butler described the crime scene as “rather large.” The incident prompted police to block multiple entrances to the massive park.
Charles Allen Drive between 8th and 10th streets also was closed but reopened around midnight. Earlier, an Atlanta police crime scene investigation van was seen pulling into the park’s gate off Charles Allen Drive.
Several yards inside the park at that location, investigators searched the ground with flashlights. At least one K9 police dog was also at the scene.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Other entrances along Piedmont Avenue were blocked by police, including near the Shake Shack restaurant and at 14th Street.
Areas near the park were lively and packed with people in clubs, bars and on the sidewalks just before 11 p.m.
— Staff writer Christopher A. Daniel contributed to this article.
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