Topline
Police have apprehended a 24-year-old accused of killing one person and injuring several others in a shooting earlier Wednesday in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood, following an hours-long search and a shelter-in-place order that briefly paralyzed the typically bustling urban area.
This photo released by the Atlanta Police Department of video footage on Wednesday, shows a … [+]
Key Facts
The Atlanta Police Department announced the arrest of Deion Patterson at about 8 p.m., roughly eight hours after he allegedly opened fire in a waiting room at Northside Hospital Midtown’s medical office buildings.
Patterson was apprehended northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, after local police tracked the license plate on a vehicle he allegedly stole following the shooting, Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said in a press conference Wednesday evening.
One person—a 39-year-old woman whose name has not been made public—was pronounced dead on the scene, and four other women between the ages of 25 and 71 were injured in the attack and remain in critical but stable condition, according to Atlanta police.
Police initially urged nearby workers to remain in their buildings after a manhunt for Patterson began, but they lifted the shelter-in-place order several hours later.
Atlanta Public Schools said just before 1:30 p.m. that schools in the area were placed under an “exterior lockdown,” but the school system later said police “assured us that we are in the clear to” dismiss students.
Authorities released images of the suspect early Wednesday afternoon, which appeared to show a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a medical mask pointing a handgun into an office space.
What We Don’t Know
Police have not suggested a possible motive or a connection to the hospital, though Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton said Patterson had an appointment at the medical facility. Patterson’s family members have cooperated with the investigation, according to Hampton.
Key Background
The shooting comes on the heels of several high-profile mass shootings across the country, which have renewed public policy debates about gun control and public safety in the United States. Texas authorities arrested a man Tuesday following a days-long manhunt after he allegedly went on a rampage against his neighbors in the Houston area Friday, killing five—including a 9-year-old. The Texas massacre occurred just weeks after five victims were shot dead at a bank in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, and about a month after six victims—three of them 9-year-old students—were killed at a Christian elementary school in Nashville. President Joe Biden has repeatedly called for stricter gun control on the national level, but leaders of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives have said they have no intention of passing any gun reform bills.
Crucial Quote
“The time is past due for common sense gun reform,” Atlanta City Councilman Amir Farokhi said in a statement following Wednesday’s shooting.
Further Reading
Police Finally Arrest Texas Man Accused Of Killing 5 Neighbors—Ending Days-Long Manhunt (Forbes)
Louisville Shooting: 5 Killed By Kentucky Bank Employee, Police Say (Forbes)
Nashville School Shooter Identified —After Three Children And Three Adults Killed (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2023/05/03/atlanta-shooting-suspect-arrested-after-hours-long-search/