Police investigating shots fired at Riverdale motel

RIVERDALE, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Police are on the scene at a motel in Riverdale after shots rang out early Monday morning.

“Shook the whole building basically,” said resident LaTonia Thomas. “The entire building and it scared everybody. It was very frightening.”

FOX 5 News arrived shortly after 2 a.m. to find crime scene tape blocking off a majority of the parking lot at HomeStay Suites off Highway 85.

One resident, who asked us not to show his face, ran for cover when gunfire erupted.

“I heard 3 shots and then 2 more, then I ended up getting my kids and taking them to the bathroom,” the resident said.

Responding officers discovered 22-year-old Charles Jackson lying on the ground between two buildings, with a gunshot wound to the leg. Medics transported the Atlanta man to Grady Memorial Hospital.

A second man, 32-year-old Mario Mitchell was also wounded.

Police reported 20 to 30 rounds fired during the gun battle. Stray bullets struck buildings and shattered car windows.

Ahnayiah Thomas, Resident said, “I was like ‘Oh my God what’s going on?’ “

The crime scene stretched all the way to the Public Storage buildings next door. Much of the parking lot blocked off from the motel to the storage facility next door for several hours Monday as investigators recovered assault rifle and handgun shell casings. Residents said it’s a miracle no one was killed.

Riverdale Police, Clayton County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are working the investigation.

“It was so many people out here, people coming home from work, people coming in from partying ‘cuz you know it was Cinco de Mayo so you know people coming in partying. There was so much going on,” said Thomas.

Investigators were seen taking photographs and placing evidence markers near several shell casings.