Man Robbed at Gunpoint in East Atlanta

Editor's note: The following crime incident which occurred on June 8, was shared by Ron Lall, public safety committee chair of Neighborhood Planning Unit-W, which includes East Atlanta.

The victim stated he was robbed in the 400 block of Monument Ave SE. He stated he was walking home from an East Atlanta bar on Flat Shoals Avenue SE at about 1:15 a.m.

He was approached by suspect one, a black male wearing a blue polo shirt, who was possibly armed with a handgun. He was also approached by suspect two, a black male with a white- t-shit and dreads, who was armed with a black handgun. The victim's wallet and phone were taken.

The suspects fled the scene in a Dodge Caravan (GA tag PQN9983); which came back stolen out of Dekalb County.

Please:

• be observant and aware of your surroundings at all times - that means knowing who is in front of and who is behind or beside you at all times and how close they are, whether you are walking or driving.
• when walking, especially at night, consider keeping your phone out of sight, and not text and walk, or walk and talk on your cell.
• pay attention to parked or slowly moving vehicles, and call 911 if there is anything that appears to be unusual or out of the ordinary with the vehicle or the occupant(s). This includes vehicles with "drive-out" tags or no tags, occupied parked vehicles that are sitting (with engine on or off) and not moving for more than a few minutes, vehicles or persons who are circling the block or re-appearing within a minute or two, vehicles speeding or being driven in a reckless manner on side streets (yes, I know this might be the norm in parts of Atlanta, but call anyway).
• call 911 to report anyone ringing your doorbell or knocking at your door who you don't know or recognize and is not carrying legit identification or has no legitimate reason for being at your door, including anyone looking for someone who they (mistakenly) think lived there.
• consider whether you always need all of the contents of your wallet or purse to be with you at all times.
• if you are going to drink and walk, don't walk alone, or better yet, don't do it at all. Not implying that you should drink and drive as the alternative, but the recent pedestrian robbery patterns show that persons leaving bars are being victimized.