Atlanta police arrested four young men and are searching for two more suspects after Pride flags were vandalized near the iconic rainbow crosswalk on Piedmont Avenue early Tuesday morning.
🚨 Why It Matters: This attack on LGBTQ symbols during Pride Month has rattled Atlanta’s vibrant LGBTQ community, especially since police say the suspects specifically traveled from outside the city to target the area around the famous rainbow crosswalk at 10th and Piedmont.
🔍 What Happened: According to Atlanta Police, six males coordinated a trip from the Dallas and Cartersville areas to Atlanta where they cut up Pride flags with knives at 991 Piedmont Ave NE around 1:40 am on June 24.
When officers arrived at the scene near the rainbow crosswalk, the suspects fled on motorized scooters. Police managed to catch four of them while two escaped.
👮 The Arrests: The four people arrested include:
- A 16-year-old from Taylorsville, GA
- Logan Matthison from Dallas, GA
- Geami Mccarroll from Dallas, GA
- Ahmed Mechkouri from Dallas, GA
⚖️ The Charges: All four face charges of obstruction, criminal damage to property, conspiracy, and prowling. Police say additional hate crime charges are pending.
The father of the juvenile suspect, received a citation for failing to supervise his son.
🔎 How You Can Help: Police have released surveillance video and are asking for the public’s help identifying the two remaining suspects. Anyone with information can submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS or online at StopCrimeAtl.org. Tips may be eligible for rewards up to $5,000.
⚠️ Reminder: Crime articles contain only charges and information from police reports and law enforcement statements. Suspects and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
