Two women who were attacked and robbed in Virginia-Highland  in the early morning hours of Jan. 15, while shots were fired during another armed robbery just after midnight on Jan. 16 on the Atlanta BeltLine in Inman Park.

According to CBS46, the two women in the Virginia-Highland attack were walking home – a two-block route they’ve taken many times – when they were tackled to the ground by two suspects. The two men pistol-whipped, beat and robbed the roommates of their purses and jewelry.

In the BeltLine incident, a group of young women were robbed on a section of the trail between the Mariposa Lofts and Ladybird restaurant and bar. Shots were fired into the air by the fleeing suspects as help came to the victims’ aid.

Collin Kelley is the executive editor of Atlanta Intown, Georgia Voice, and the Rough Draft newsletter. He has been a journalist for nearly four decades and is also an award-winning poet and novelist.