Mother of Mechanicsville neighborhood reunion shooting victim calls for action – WABE

The Mechanicsville community is pushing for an end to gun violence after a recent party ended with five people shot and more than 90 shell casings on the ground.

Atlanta police say the shooting happened Aug. 10 in a park off Windsor Street in southwest Atlanta after the annual Mechanicsville neighborhood meeting.

No arrests have been made, but investigators are appealing to the public to help identify the suspect or suspects involved.

That’s why the Rev. Timothy McDonald of First Iconium Baptist Church said he was standing with the families of the victims outside Grady Memorial Hospital on Friday.

“The silence has been deafening and we feel that more noise needs to be made,” McDonald said.

Tabatha Colzie, the mother of a 29-year-old woman who was shot in the head, said her daughter remains in critical condition.

“He didn’t bother anybody, he was the sweetest person,” Colzie said. “I will continue to say (that she) was the sweetest person you could ever meet. And I am torn and hurt and angry and angry. Very angry and upset.”

The other victims injured in the shooting ranged in age from 15 to 33.

Their families, including Colzie, claim they heard there was going to be a shooting at the reunion, but police at the scene did nothing to stop it.

Local activist and attorney Mawuli Davis said anyone in the Mechanicsville community who needs support or mental health experts and community organizations interested in helping can visit www.healatl.org.

An event is also planned at the Dunbar Recreation Center on Aug. 24 at 10 a.m.

“We reached out to the city,” Davis said. “We asked that they reopen the Dunbar Center for this healing session and community resource fair because what we are clear about is that our community needs access to resources. … We will do what we have to do to make it clear that this community will not be left alone.”

Data from the Atlanta Police Department shows there have been 50 murders involving a firearm against people, property and society in Mechanicsville so far this year.