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After an hourslong manhunt, Atlanta police have apprehended a man suspected of shooting five women, one fatally, at a medical office building in a busy part of the city Wednesday.
The suspect, identified by authorities as Deion Patterson, was apprehended on Wednesday evening, police said.
Four victims had been taken to the hospital for treatment, and one was pronounced dead on the scene.
The victims are all women and range in age from 25 to 71, Atlanta police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a press conference.
Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, told reporters that three of the injured victims were in critical condition. He qualified the incident as a mass casualty event.
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Authorities put the city’s typically bustling Midtown neighborhood on lockdown as they searched for the suspect, who was considered “armed and dangerous.” They later lifted the shelter-in-place order and issued a $10,000 reward for information about the suspect’s whereabouts.
The location of the shooting is a large office building that also houses a medical office. Police said there have been no other reports of gunshots after the initial incident.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed on the incident, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.
There have been more than 185 mass shootings in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks incidents of gun violence where four or more people are shot.
