Perception of Crime in Atlanta: Another person shot in the back
July 28, 2009 at 9:00 am by Andisheh Nouraee in NewsJason Lee was pulling up to his girlfriend’s Edgewood home from the grocery store Saturday night when he was approached by three armed young men who demanded his car keys.
Lee gave the robbers his car keys and turned to go inside, at which point he was shot in the back. Lee is in stable condition. He spoke to WSB-TV from his hospital bed yesterday.
Here’s a chilling excerpt from a note Lee’s girlfriend posted to a neighborhood board:
I jumped in the car to take him to the hospital and as we took a right on LaFrance the three kids were casually walking down the street. I was on the phone with the police at the time and told them…but we know how that goes.
(Note: The original post omitted the victim’s name. Because he spoke to WSB-TV, I revised the post).
July 28th, 2009 at 10:05 am
This is at least the third incident in the past month I’ve heard in the Candler Park/Edgewood area where people have been approached while bringing in their groceries, although this is the only one that involved a shooting. I’m glad to hear he’s doing ok.
And not that it matters, but they were on the local news giving interviews last night, so I think they may be ok with their names being out there.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:09 am
So they took the guys keys and left on foot?
July 28th, 2009 at 11:21 am
nast — thank you for that update. i was working from my phone and didn’t have access to local TV news.
i’ll update it.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:33 am
O,
It’s implied in the original post from the victim’s girlfriend that the victim actually tossed his keys away from the porch – something I always thought was supposed to be a smart move. Apparently all it did was piss them off, so they shot him and didn’t even take the car.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:49 am
nast — on what tv station did they appear. i looked, but couldn’t find.
July 28th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Andisheh,
It was on WSB, although it apparently also aired at 6pm. They have the clip on their website under the heading “Man Shot During Attempted Carjacking.”
July 28th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Funny how they told WSB a different story. I suppose complying to the demands and getting shot anyway is much more sensational.
I’m no expert on the criminal mind but it seems that pissing off your armed assailant is not the best idea.
July 28th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Hey “O”-
Don’t make assumptions – my understanding from the original discussion in the Edgewood newsgroup (I am a resident) is that Jason tossed his keys towards the assailants as to say “here, take em” rather than throwing them away. My understanding is that he was trying to comply, but the robbers may have been angered by it.
I could be wrong – but I’m just saying that you should go accusing the victim of deliberately pissing off the thugs.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Hey “CJ”-
Perhaps you should have read nast’s comment before climbing up on your horse.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
O, I don’t see any discrepancy in the story. I haven’t read any story to suggest “throwing” the keys meant anything other than complying with the robbers’ demands.
Regardless, he’s the victim.
Whether he threw the keys hard, tossed them gently, or polished and gift-wrapped them, he’s still an innocent man who was almost murdered.
July 28th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Why be a d-bag, O? I always enjoy the “I’m no expert but” preface to someone speaking as an expert.
As Andy said, bottom line is they demanded keys, dude threw/tossed/lobbed/whatever the keys toward them, thug shoots him. Not okay and not the victim’s fault.
July 28th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I only saw the original posting which I read and interpreted as I stated above. I think if these guys were intent on shooting someone, they would have done it no matter how it went down. All things considered, it’s a miracle the guy seemed to be well enough to give an interview the next day.
It sounds like there were additional witnesses to the crime. If any additional details on the criminals come up, I and other area residents who frequently use LaFrance would appreciate an update. I doubt this will be the last time they’re in the area.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Andisheh – Nast said the victim threw the keys away. The accounts that I read didn’t state that but I wasn’t privy to “the original post from the victim’s girlfriend.” There is a big difference between throwing the keys away (as in to the bushes) and throwing them to the guy pointing a gun at you. One is likely to piss off the assailant, and one might not get you shot. I don’t know what happened as there seem to be conflicting accounts. I feel bad for the guy but something doesn’t add up with this story. I would hope the loaf would be publishing accurate stories.
Mr.T – To your first paragraph, do you think that pissing off your attacker is the best way to not get shot? For your second, let me make my comment crystal clear for you. This does not seem like a good idea (read it carefully) whether or not it happened in this instance.
It’s tragic what happened but the story, as it is presented publicly, doesn’t make much sense unless a)the guy happened to be out of gas when these kids shot him for his car (unlikely coincidence), b)the guy tossed his keys away so they wouldn’t take his car (tragic but not very smart), or c)he complied but the assailant shot him anyway but decided they would rather stroll away then take the car they have the keys for (even more tragic but less credulous).
July 30th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
When the number is 38000 property crimes and 7000 other severe crimes for Fulton County, who counts? Ask the almost 45,000 people who were victims last year if they think crime is up or down!
August 31st, 2009 at 10:10 am
Where you can you find a description of the kids?