Stats: Nine killed on one Buckhead city block since 2000 in 40-minute period

<p>Nine people who were shot or stabbed to death within the same block of Atlantas Buckhead entertainment district since 2000 were all killed between 3:40 a.m. and 4:20 a.m.</p><p>The newly released Atlanta Police Department statistics lent fuel to supporters of a proposal to shut down Buckheads nightclubs earlier than the current 4 a.m. closing time. But opponents said they are skeptical the shorter hours would make a difference.</p><p>Its stunning, said Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard, who asked police to generate the report. All of the homicides happened within a 30-minute window.</p><p>City Councilman Ceasar Mitchell, chairman of the bodys public safety committee, said there is no evidence that closing the clubs earlier would reduce the violence.</p><p>The question is, is it not so much the time of the closing but the fact of the closing itself, he said.</p><p>Woolard and some other council members support a 3 a.m. closing time with last call for drinks at 2 a.m.</p><p>Mitchell and other opponents of earlier closing hours in Buckhead say a new ordinance could cost the city tourist dollars.</p><p>Three of nine people were killed in two separate incidents in January 2000 in the city block in Buckhead Village. Since then, six others have been killed in the block.</p>