A homeless man has been killed as workers cleared a homeless encampment ahead of a major US holiday. The homeless camp close to the historic Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, Georgia, was being cleared ahead of the city’s Martin Luther King Day celebration.
![[Bulldozer kills man in tent while clearing homeless camp for Martin Luther King celebration FOX5]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236548190-1974.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Authorities haven’t yet made clear how the victim, Cornelius Taylor, was killed, but witnesses told local media that he was run over by a bulldozer brought in to clear the tents. He later died in hospital. Officials say Cornelius and an Atlanta City Public Works vehicle were involved in an ‘incident’ at around noon local time on Thursday.
![[Bulldozer kills man in tent while clearing homeless camp for Martin Luther King celebration Eric Mock @EricMockTV While city officials and APD investigators won?t confirm exactly what happened. Activists and witnesses say the man was run over by a truck that was being used to clear out the tents. You can still see some smashed tents on Old Wheat Street. @FOX5Atlanta]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236548199-efea.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Large crowds are expected to flood to the church to mark the holiday dedicated to the life and civil rights achievements of Martin Luther King Jr, with events held in and around the church over the weekend and on Monday. Martin Luther King Jr preached at Ebenezer Baptist church as co-pastor with his father between 1960-1968, and he was also baptised there, making it a major venue for MLK Day events.
![[Bulldozer kills man in tent while clearing homeless camp for Martin Luther King celebration FOX5]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236548186-ce63.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The homeless encampment was being cleared to make more space for attendees. A spokesperson for Atlanta’s Housing Justice League said: ‘The sweep, prior to which the city failed completely to check the tents, is a stopgap measure to try to project a false, sanitized vision of Atlanta.
‘Taylor and everyone else living on the streets deserved much more than to be bulldozed out of the way for MLK Weekend festivities. Everyone deserves to live in dignity.’. Anthony Richardson, who lived in the same encampment, told Fox 5 his tent was ‘right behind’ Cornelius’, and that his friend may have been asleep when city workers announced they were clearing out the camp.
