A quinceañera celebration along Buford Highway in Chamblee turned into a crime scene early Saturday when three juveniles were shot near an event hall, leaving one in critical condition and two with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. Officers say the victims had been attending the party when gunfire erupted near Buford Highway and Dresden Drive, and a suspect was chased down and arrested in a nearby parking lot.
What Police Say Happened
According to investigators, officers were in the middle of a traffic stop around 12:45 a.m. when they heard several gunshots coming from the area of 4300 Buford Hwy. A responding sergeant reported seeing a man running behind a business and jumping a fence.
Police say a lieutenant later spotted someone matching that description. The person took off, but officers caught him after a foot chase, and investigators recovered a firearm along the route where the suspect ran. All three wounded juveniles were taken to nearby hospitals, and the suspect was booked into the DeKalb County Jail, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
New Tech, Old Worries
The shooting comes in the same month Chamblee rolled out its new Real-Time Crime Center, a roughly $2 million hub that city officials say pulls together camera feeds, license-plate readers, and other tools to help officers respond faster and sift through evidence more efficiently. City leaders have promoted the center as a way to speed up investigations and share information with neighboring departments, WSB-TV reports.
At the broader metro level, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported that homicides in the city fell in 2025. Even so, shootings that leave young people injured continue to rattle residents and draw concern from officials.
Investigation Still Underway
Authorities have not yet released the suspect’s name or the ages of the victims, as detectives continue interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence. The suspect remains held at the DeKalb County Jail while investigators follow up on leads…