404 fest not at fault for deadly mayhem? Residents beg to differ.

Nearby residents complained about gridlocked traffic and rampant misbehavior. In fact, the event got so out of hand that police shut it down more than an hour early.

City Councilman Alex Wan has lived near the park for more than 30 years. “But I don’t recall experiencing anything this disruptive during my time here,” he wrote in a note to the public.

Most troubling was the killing of 16-year-old Tianah Robinson and the wounding of a 15-year-old girl. The two girls, who did not know each other, were caught in the cross fire when some punks started firing dozens of shots in the park. It is not known who they were shooting at or who they were, although police have video images of possible suspects.

The city — both police and Mayor Andre Dickens — were quick to distance 404 Day from the mayhem.

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC

Barely three hours after the 9:03 p.m. shooting, police noted the “permitted festival concluded on the opposite side of the park at approximately 7:45 p.m. At this time, there is no information indicating the shooting is connected to that event.”

“Preliminary investigation indicates the incident stemmed from an unpermitted gathering that occurred near the far west end of the park,” police said.

The day after the killing, Dickens issued a statement with almost the same wording and then doubled down during a Monday news conference.

Even the reward poster carries the same messaging.

The event was permitted to have up to 1,999 people, the smallest such permit for special events. The mayor said the fest, at its peak, had just 1,200 attending.

It’s a very specific number for a very fluid event.

Dickens said the event had 11 cops and 12 private security guards — more than a festival permitted at that size is mandated to have.

Again, the event that neighbors opposed, had absolutely nothing to do with the girl’s death, the city insisted.

Credit: City of Atlanta

Credit: City of Atlanta

Now, mind you, the city, and Dickens himself, were promoting 404 Day events in advance. Advertisements, and at least one TV newscast, broadcast that there was a festival at Piedmont Park with free music.

So you have free music that appeals to young people on a Saturday in spring. In Piedmont Park! And someone believes that event will draw less than 2,000 people?

If so, then I have a tower on 17th Street I’d like to sell you.

The organizer of the event did not return messages. Let me add here that Dickens repeated an oft-told Atlanta complaint: That the city is weary of babysitting everyone else’s kids.

Neighbors were quick to call out the mayor’s crowd numeration and explanation that the fest had nothing to do with the violence.

“To say it was unrelated, that’s such a weird statement,” said James Murphy, who lives near the park and attended the festival. He called the city’s statements “gaslighting.” He was not the only resident to use that term.

“There were so many people there; how do they know who was who?” he asked. “Maybe you’re not at the festival but you are there because of the festival.”

Murphy’s “lowball” crowd estimate was at least 5,000, with more young people coming as the day wore on. He saw young people who were armed.

“If you’re a teen wearing a hoody and a mask, in 80-degree weather, and you’re carrying? That’s terrifying,” he said.

In a statement Thursday, Dickens’ office said: “Speculating that anyone who sets foot on the property of Piedmont Park while a festival or event is being held somewhere on its more than 200 acres is foolish and defies logic.

“Haphazardly blaming events an hour after they close is a dangerous precedent. Are you (now) going down a road that leads to where sports events or concerts Downtown release tens of thousands of people, something happens and then they are the next to be blamed?”

The mayor’s office said there were more than 50 404 Day events across the city, and they went off without incident.

They added, “We are now looking forward, not breaking our necks looking behind us — as should you."

Tim Langan, a neighbor who jogged though the event in late afternoon, said, “There had to be at least 10,000 people there.”

“Why are we trying to mask the facts of what happened?” he asked.

Well, the city has a big soccer festival on the books, as well as large events at Piedmont Park like the Dogwood Festival (this weekend) and the Jazz Festival (in May). So they don’t want to scare the public.

Credit: John Stephens JAS PHOTO

Credit: John Stephens JAS PHOTO

Resident Scott Williams compared 404 Day at the park to Freaknik, the Black spring break from the 1990s that froze the city in place.

Of course, what makes this whole debate even more sensitive is that the crowd was overwhelmingly Black and most of those living nearby are not.

The crowd for Jazz Fest is also overwhelmingly Black, but that attracts an older crowd, Williams said, “not 17, 18 and 19-year-olds like this.”

Councilman Wayne Martin told Fox 5: “We can’t go out there and arbitrarily deny these things because Piedmont Park is a festival park.”

Blake Schultz, a resident who attended the fest, said the crowd in the official festival area (just east of the park’s active oval) probably was less than 2,000 people.

Schultz said there was a “great energy” in the crowd but noticed the mood changed before the fest was shut down by police at 7:45 p.m. As older fest-goers left, younger people “poured into the park,” he said.

Police told neighborhood groups that a brawl caused a bike rack to topple and the ensuing loud sound scared many in the crowd, causing a stampede.

Schultz said he enjoyed himself and added that the clogged streets “is a price we pay living next to one of the city’s assets.”

He wants events like 404 Day to continue. “It’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “How do we find that perfect lane for that to happen?”