ATLANTA — A gunman accused of shooting five people at a medical facility in Midtown, and killing one of them, has been taken into custody after an hours-long manhunt that paralyzed metro Atlanta.
Police said Deion Patterson, 24, opened fire in the waiting room of a Northside Hospital medical office Wednesday around noon, killing one woman and wounding four others. Three of the victims remain in critical condition.
Jail records show Patterson has been booked into the Fulton County Jail on one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
The victim who was killed has been identified as 38-year-old Amy St. Pierre. She was an employee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They released a statement that read:
“CDC is deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a colleague killed today in the Midtown Atlanta shooting. Our hearts are with her family, friends, and colleagues as they remember her and grieve this tragic loss.”
Police said after the shooting, Patterson stole a truck at a nearby Shell station and drove to Cobb County, where he abandoned the truck in a parking garage near the Battery.
For hours officers from multiple jurisdictions search for Patterson across metro Atlanta and Cobb County, shutting down major roads and leaving many communities locked inside their homes.
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Neighbors on Killarney SE in Cobb County alerted police that Patterson could be hiding in their complex Wednesday evening.
Patterson was taken into custody just before 8 p.m., according to the City of Atlanta.
Video obtained by Channel 2 Action News shows him surrendering to police before he was handcuffed.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum confirmed that all five victims of the shooting are women and that the injured victims are aged 25, 38, 56 and 71.
Before Patterson was captured, Atlanta police released several photos of the alleged shooter pointing to what appears to be a handgun inside a set of glass doors. Police said he did have an appointment at the facility and was only inside for about two minutes before he started shooting.
Channel 2s’ Sophia Choi spoke to Patterson’s mother, who said her son became agitated when doctors wouldn’t give him Ativan, an anti-anxiety drug.
Channel 2 Action News confirmed that Patterson joined the U.S. Coast Guard in July 2018 and served as an Electrician’s Mate Second Class. He was discharged from active duty in January 2023. It’s unclear why he was discharged.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was one of the first reporters at the scene as it unfolded on Channel 2 Action News at Noon on Wednesday. Seiden said he saw what looked like hundreds of heavily-armed officers outside 1100 West Peachtree Street Northwest, which is a Northside Hospital facility.
Multiple agencies including Atlanta police, Atlanta fire, MARTA police, Georgia Tech police and the Georgia State Patrol responded to the situation.
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This is the second mass shooting in Midtown in less than a year. Two people were killed in August of 2022 when a woman opened fire in a condo building on West Peachtree. That shooting appeared to be motivated by a dispute with the condo’s board.
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