ATLANTA — The midtown shooting suspect, Deion Patterson, 24, was arrested Wednesday night after police say he opened fire in the waiting room of a Northside Hospital medical office, killing one woman and wounding four others.
Channel 2 Investigative reporter Mark Winne got his hands on exclusive video of the alleged shooter running through midtown right after the attacks.
The surveillance video and the communication from witnesses were important events officials believed may have helped bring Patterson into custody.
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Blandon Johnson, the owner of Dog Automotive co-located with the Shell gas station at Spring Street and 14th Street, said a friend who helps take care of the pay parking lot next door told him the friend’s pickup truck had just been stolen from the lot.
Immediately, Johnson knew Atlanta police needed to know because a search for the man who had just shot five people, one fatally, at a nearby medical office was underway.
He directed his friend to a nearby Atlanta police motorcycle officer inevitability setting in motion a chain of events that led to police tracking the truck in Cobb County and eventually the arrest of Patterson.
“The individual who had the truck stolen is familiar with the shop here and he came over and told me and I directed him to see one of the APD motor officers that happened to be here on location, and he immediately started asking him questions,” Johnson said.
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Johnson told Channel 2 Action News he also provided the security video from the shell station on three cameras to Atlanta police. That video shows a man police believed to be the fleeing suspect, crossing the intersection at 14th and Spring, running along 14th Street toward the I-75 overpass, trying to possibly flag down a car unsuccessfully, then running north on Williams Street toward the back of the parking lot where the pickup truck was stolen.
“They started putting together the fact that this possibly was the shooter. I then asked one of the investigators if he wanted to watch the video,” he told Channel 2 Action News.
Johnson was impressed by the speed and professionalism Atlanta police and their police partners showed.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat was in the executive command post at Atlanta Police Department’s headquarters while the incident unfolded.
“It was an incredible testament to leadership, both from the Atlanta police department, and our mayor. Everyone did a wonderful job,” Labat said.
Labat told Channel 2 Action News, as of now, Patterson will stay in the jail’s medical observation under close watch for at least 48 to 72 hours.
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