ATLANTA — A gunman opened fire in the waiting room of a medical building in Midtown Atlanta Wednesday, setting off a massive emergency response in one of Atlanta's busiest commercial and residential centers before giving way to a tense, hours-long manhunt that ended in a Cobb County neighborhood.
In all, five women were shot - one of them killed.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was taken into custody in a Cobb neighborhood less than a mile from Truist Park.
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Here's what we know about what will happen next, as well as what we know (and don't know) about the shooting that rattled metro Atlanta on Wednesday.
What happens next
The suspect, Deion Patterson, was identified by the U.S. Coast Guard as a member of the branch from July 2018 to January 2023 who last served an Electrician's Mate Second Class.
So far, not much else is known about Patterson, other than that before the shooting Wednesday he arrived at the Northside Medical Midtown facility with his mother.
- Patterson was due in court Thursday but ended up waiving his first appearance. At this time, there is no specific date on when he will appear in court again. Typically in a hearing such as this, the suspect will be informed of the charges and, in the case of a murder charge, denied bond due to the severity of that charge.
- Jail records show Patterson's charges include one court of murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
What we are waiting to learn
So far we know the identity of one victim - 39-year-old Amy St. Pierre, a CDC employee who was killed in the shooting.
- We do not yet know the identities of the other four victims who were injured. They may not be made public.
- Police have also not yet given a precise timeline of where they suspect Patterson spent much of Wednesday evading capture and hiding. It is possible we will learn more about his movements before he was arrested.
Suspect search started in Atlanta
Police arrived at the medical center for an active shooter call just after noon and issued a shelter-in-place order for much of the area that included businesses and schools.
Investigators said Patterson ran from the medical building to a nearby gas station, where he found a white pick-up truck with keys in the ignition. He hopped in and drove off, according to police.
Search spreads to Cobb County
In an evening update, authorities said they had refocused their search for Patterson in Cobb County.
Cobb County Police Department was tipped off about Patterson's potential whereabouts around 2:30 p.m., according to Sgt. W.A. Delk. He said a Georgia Department of Transportation camera caught sight of Patterson near Windy Ridge Parkway and Heritage Court at 12:30 p.m., adding that the two-hour difference hindered the law enforcement search.
Vehicle found
A vehicle that had been stolen in Midtown shortly after the shooting was also found in a parking deck near The Battery and Truist Park, believed to be driven by Patterson, according to authorities.
Cobb Police said they had officer presence in the Vinings, Cumberland and Truist Park areas. Delk said police believed it was highly likely Patterson was in the area.
And around 8 p.m., APD confirmed the suspect had been arrested.
Combined effort to arrest suspect
After receiving several tips about Patterson's whereabouts, investigators said their search led them to a Cobb County condominium complex in Smyrna along Lismore SE.
The complex is less than a mile north of the baseball stadium.
An undercover Cobb County police officer was the one to apprehend Patterson at the heavily wooded complex. Uniformed officers would soon arrive as a backup and assist in handing off Patterson to APD custody.
APD and Mayor Andre Dickens held a press conference, where they said a multi-jurisdictional effort was in place as they searched for the suspect, including help from other agencies such as the GBI and the FBI.
APD Chief Darin Schierbaum said the city's camera network helped and assisted in the investigation.