Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields pledged to apprehend the culprits in a string of armed robberies that have happened near the Georgia Tech campus in the past three weeks.

Shield said during an afternoon press conference that the Atlanta Police Department could have done a better job. “Frankly, we did not hit this aggressively enough at the onset and we will start today.” she said.

There have been four armed robberies in the past few weeks, with the latest happening this morning near the intersection of 15th and State streets in the Home Park neighborhood near Tech.

“We cannot have our students at Georgia Tech or any college being victimized in this manner,” Shields said, noting that APD would be joining with the Georgia Tech police force to better patrol and educate students on safety.

Georgia Tech released this statement concerning the robberies:

“These crimes are a citywide concern that have affected Home Park. The Georgia Tech Police Department is working closely with the City of Atlanta and support their efforts to reduce crime.

We see the City of Atlanta’s problems in Home Park as our problem, too. We are extending additional resources to assist with this problem including regular patrolling in Home Park, increasing the visibility of GTPD officers, and staging our SkyCop mobile surveillance system to improve our chances of gathering evidence that will lead to solving these cases. We also encourage students to take advantage of Georgia Tech’s “Safe Ride Home” program to transport them from the campus to their homes.

We stand in support of the Atlanta Police Department to fight crime in Home Park, where many of our students, staff, and faculty live, work, and play.”

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