Dozens of residents’ cars broken into at Atlanta apartment complex

ATLANTA — Atlanta police are investigating a series of car break-ins in the Peachtree Hills neighborhood of Atlanta.

Police confirmed that multiple cars were broken into in the area around 350 Peachtree Hills Circle NE, adding that the investigation into the incidents is active and ongoing.

Brandy Doty said she woke up to the news Thursday morning.

“The lady sitting at the picnic table, one of my neighbors, is visibly upset. She says, ‘Your car window is broken,’” Doty recalled, saying she couldn’t believe her eyes. “I thought, ‘What?’ I got here, all the windows in the car were broken and her husband’s car was gone.”

Doty described the scene as “chaos,” adding that “everything was destroyed.”

She said she moved to the neighborhood in December.

“It’s really quiet,” Doty said. “It’s safe, at least that’s what I thought.”

Doty walked us to his car and opened the door as shards of glass fell from a window.

“They took everything out of the glove compartment, including the console,” Doty said, showing off his trashed car.

The neighboring Doty’s complex was also affected. Staff told 11Alive that security cameras captured a group of five or six people breaking into more than a dozen cars on the property.

“It puts you in a little bit of danger. A lot of people try to target this area of ​​Buckhead because they think it’s expensive to live here and people have money, but I’m a single mom who’s struggling,” Doty said. “(The damage) doesn’t cover the cost of my deductible, so I’m going to have to pay out of pocket.”

Even though Doty said the person or people stole some of her belongings, including half a case of bottled water she keeps in the back seat to hand out to people experiencing homelessness, she remains positive.

“I know what dark days are like. I looked the devil in the face and I made it through,” the single mother said. “No matter what I’m going to go through, I’m going to get through it. I’m going to get through it.”