UPDATED 8:25 PM
Cobb Police say they have arrested Deion Patterson and will release more information in a joint press conference with Atlanta Police.
Follow-up story can be found by clicking here.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Cobb Police said Wednesday that they are assisting Atlanta Police and other law enforcement agencies in trying to apprehend a man whom they say shot at least five people at Midtown hospital, one fatally.
In a social media message posted around 3:15 p.m., Cobb Police said they have assigned officers in the search “after reports he may have come to Cobb County. Portions of Cobb County that border Atlanta may see heavier than normal presence.”
Cobb Police said in another message a few minutes later that “reports of a recovered carjacked vehicle near Campbell Middle School are not correct. We will update with information as it becomes available.”
Another message posted around 3:45 p.m. said the search was taking place in the Vinings, Cumberland and Truist Park areas.
At 4:25 p.m., Cobb Police said that “reports of shots fired at 200 Galleria Pkwy were a false alarm. No shots fired.”
The Smyrna Police Department posted a message shortly after 2 p.m. saying it had received “credible information that a vehicle possibly connected to the midtown shooting was seen in the area of Campbell Rd and Atlanta Rd.
“Officers responded to the area to assist in the search, but the vehicle was not there. Smyrna Police Department is continuing to work with other law enforcement agencies in this matter. If you see anything suspicious please call 911.”
At 4:45 p.m. the Cobb Sheriff’s Office said it had activated its SWAT unit to support Cobb Police search efforts.
The Cobb Police postings came shortly after Atlanta Police lifted a shelter-in-place order in the area around 1110 West Peachtree St.
That’s the address of the Northside Hospital Midtown campus.
Atlanta Police identified the suspect as Deion Patterson, 24, and released the accompanying photos, saying that as of 2:46 p.m. he was still at-large but believed he was no longer in the Midtown area.
“The suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous and should not be approached,” Atlanta Police said shortly before 2 p.m.
The shelter-in-place was ordered around 12:40 p.m. after shots rang out at the medical building.
Police said four of the shooting victims were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and the person who died was pronounced deceased at the scene.
A Grady official said at a press conference that three of the shooting victims taken to the hospital are in critical condition—two of them had been in surgery—and the other is in the emergency room.
Atlanta Police held a media briefing later Wednesday afternoon, and said a 39-year-old woman was killed, and that the other victims taken to Grady also are women, ages 25, 29, 56 and 71.
This story will be updated.
Related:
- Man sentenced to 15 years for stalking Indian Hills woman
- East Cobb investment adviser pleads guilty to Ponzi scheme
- Cobb ‘crawling burglar’ indicted on 25 counts
- Suspect in murders of Cobb Sheriff’s deputies gets 2 life terms
- East Cobb man sentenced for child sexual exploitation
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