Gunfire erupted at an Atlanta medical facility on Wednesday, killing at least one woman and wounding four more as police searched for the assailant, authorities said.
Police were searching for 24-year-old Deion Patterson, who is believed to be the gunman whose picture was taken by security cameras, officials said.
Patterson fled in a vehicle he carjacked and later abandoned, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters.
Multiple police agencies in Atlanta, Fulton County and neighboring Cobb County were on high alert for the armed suspect, officials said. The manhunt’s focus was in Cobb County late Wednesday afternoon, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.
“He was able to flee the scene as the law enforcement agencies were descending on this area,” Schierbaum told reporters. “We believe he has left the area.”
Residents had been asked to stay away from the neighborhood of 1110 W. Peachtree St. after an “active shooter” was reported at about 12:30 p.m., officials said. A shelter-in-place order by Atlanta police was lifted just after 3 p.m.
The shooting happened at about 12:08 p.m. in an 11th floor waiting room of the medical center, according to Schierbaum.
The victims, who are all women, were not immediately identified.
The fatally wounded victim was 39, while the wounded were ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, Schierbaum said. It wasn’t immediately clear if the victims were patients or hospital employees.
“It’s still too soon to know why these individuals were chosen,” Schierbaum said of the victims.
Police posted pictures of a suspect who was “still at large.” They later identified him as Patterson.
If anyone sees Patterson, they are being asked to call 911 and not engage with him.
Patterson was at the medical facility with his mother for an appointment, police told NBC News.
A woman who answered at a number associated with the suspect’s mother declined to answer questions and handed the phone to an Atlanta police officer.
The shooter’s mother was not harmed in the gunfire and his family has been cooperative with investigators, the chief said.
The four wounded, all adults, were rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where three were listed in critical condition, Chief Medical Officer Robert Jansen told reporters.
The hospital was mobilized for a possible “mass casualty event” and was ready to treat up to 12 gunshot victims, Jansen added.
“Within minutes, we had multiple trauma surgeons, multiple staff” ready for shooting victims, Jansen said. “We were fully prepared, we were anticipating up to 12 patients, fortunately we only received four.”
The address disclosed by police matched a location of a Northside medical facility that houses a cancer center, an orthopedic institute, a radiology unit and more.
“Northside Hospital is cooperating with law enforcement following the shooting at our midtown #Atlanta location earlier this afternoon,” the healthcare company said. “We urge people in the area to shelter in place and follow instructions from law enforcement on the scene.”
Within minutes of the police alert, the block the facility is on was flooded with squad cars and ambulances.
There were few pedestrians on the street in what is ordinarily a busy lunch rush in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood, which is filled with hotels, museums and restaurants.
Peachtree Street, Atlanta’s main thoroughfare, is lined with bars, comedy clubs, shops and a variety of eateries.
Atlanta Public Schools announced that nearby campuses were put on lockdown in the wake of the gunfire, officials said.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed on the shooting, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said his own two children were caught up in the lockdowns.
“This is knocking on all of our doors, and I feel this this afternoon, in a very real sense,” Warnock said on the Senate floor. “I feel it in my bones because my own two children were on lockdown this afternoon. I have two small children and their schools were on lockdown responding to this tragedy. They’re there, I’m here. Hoping and praying that they are safe. But the truth is, none of us is safe.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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