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Suspect identified in deadly Midtown shooting, may have known the victims

11Alive found that both of the victims who died were listed in a job discrimination lawsuit filed last year

ATLANTA — The woman arrested in connection with the Midtown Atlanta shooting appears to have known the victims who were killed. A third person was also injured in the shooting.

On Tuesday, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office released a mugshot of the suspect, who they now confirm is Raissa Kenge.

On Monday, officials with MARTA sent a memo to their employees warning them of a suspected shooter Monday afternoon. The name in that memo matches a name listed in a job discrimination lawsuit filed last year. 11Alive also found that both of the victims who died were listed in the documents.

APD said earlier that they believe the victims were targeted.

"By the information that is currently available to us now, we do not believe these were random acts of violence," said APD Interim Chief Darin Schierbaum Monday in an update. "We do believe the individuals were likely targeted who were harmed today."

Atlanta Police said they were first called to 1280 W. Peachtree Street around 1:45 p.m. and found two people suffering from gunshot wounds. While they were investigating that scene, they were called to 1100 Peachtree Street around 2 p.m., where another person was injured.

Two of those shooting victims died, APD said. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office identified them as 60-year-old Michael Shinners and 41-year-old Wesley Freeman.

Witnesses and neighbors who live at 1280 W. Peachtree Street were shocked by the events that unfolded.

“Stomach kind of feels funny right now, it’s a drastic difference in my everyday life," said Christian Bell, who lives in the building where the first shooting occurred.

"As soon as I stepped off the elevator, we just started hearing gunshots. There were three of them. It's not something I'm used to every day, so I had to think quick and get up out of there," Bell added.

Another resident, Lee Hill, said they were alerted to stay inside.

"The speaker system comes on it says, 'don’t leave your apartment. There’s been an incident in the plaza,'” Hill said.

Police spent hours tracking down Kenge and she was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 4 p.m. Police said they recovered the firearm during the arrest.

They are also trying to determine the motive. However, documents show both victims were two of dozens named in a job discrimination lawsuit filed by the person who was named as the suspected shooter in the MARTA memo. It’s one of two lawsuits she's a part of against the building management of 1280 West. In a federal civil suit, she claimed to be a whistleblower and the company and the managers involved violated her civil rights and financial regulations.

Again, APD has not confirmed the name of the suspect yet. 11Alive will continue to follow this story as more information is released.

 

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