DeKalb homeowners say they are having to duck gunfire from nearby hotel constantly

Some South DeKalb homeowners say bullets are constantly flying through their homes.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln talked to homeowners along Larkspur Terrace near Glenwood Road, who said they keep having to duck and dodge gunfire.

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“Me and my girlfriend, we were going out the door. They was shooting from the left and she said, ‘Girl, I guess we need to go to the right,’” homeowner Carroll Harris said.

Clara Hutcherson showed Lincoln her broken window after a bullet came through and traveled across her family room, eventually lodging into a closet wall.

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“I said wait a minute, what holes doing in my blinds?” Hutcherson said. “I’m afraid to sit in here and watch television.”

Homeowners say the shooting is coming from the OYO Hotel on Glenwood Road.

Members with Restore DeKalb say they’ve been advocating for stiffer penalties against problem properties in South DeKalb.

“These businesses we have are kind of parasitic in a way that they function in our community,” Andrew Bell with Restore DeKalb told Lincoln.

Records from DeKalb County show the Multifamily Task Force found several violations in 2022. OYO Hotel owners paid the fines and the property was considered in good standing then.

But earlier this month the county launched a task force after an attempted homicide and aggravated assault occurred in March.

“We are an area that’s been totally neglected,” Joscelyn O’Neil said.

The county has fined the hotel owner with 20 citations for various violations and has rated this property very poor.

The owners will now have to go before a judge on June 25 to address the violations.

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“If you don’t correct it, go to jail. If I get a traffic ticket and don’t pay, they gonna issue out a warrant for me to be picked up and go to jail. That’s what needs to happen,” said Joel Edwards with Restore DeKalb.

Lincoln spoke with hotel management, who did not want to comment. She called the owner of the hotel but that person has not returned Lincoln’s phone calls.

Channel 2 Action News learned the owners purchased the hotel in 2021.

They will have to appear before a judge in June to address the violations.

The county says they will conduct another inspection in June.