ATLANTA — As the scene unfolded and word spread that there was an active shooter inside a midtown medical building, workers inside and those who were just arriving back to work were met with a massive police presence and learned that five people had been shot, and one had died.
Dr. Ahmed Ali, an oncologist who works inside the Northside Medical Building along West Peachtree Street, said he was outside taking a phone call when he saw a swarm of police cars pull up and officers getting out of their cars with rifles drawn.
“At that point in time, I knew something very serious was happening,” Ali said.
He told Channel 2 investigative Mark Winne that he went to talk to a security guard in the lobby of the building, who told Ali they heard there were shots fired on one of the floors upstairs.
That’s when the guard said an elevator door opened.
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“When the elevator … came down from that floor, there was a pool of blood … in one of the elevator cars. So that was what alerted them to call authorities,” Ali said. “Once I heard that, I ziplined by to my department … and told my staff we’re not going to shelter in place, we’re going to leave, we’re all going to evacuate.”
Cassidy Hale was just arriving at the building and told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that she tried getting in and then got a phone call from a co-worker telling her to get back into her car.
“There’s an active shooter, go back in your car and just stay there,” Hale said is what her co-worker told her.
She said she sat in her car for about 15 minutes and watched officers go car to car, sweeping the scene.
“They were kind of scaling the whole garage, checking each car and they were like, ‘Come with us,’ and I was ushered out,” Hale said.
Hale called the whole situation, “really crazy.”
“You know, living in Atlanta we hear things like this happening all the time,” Haled said. “I think everybody was just really in shock. I think everyone is just trying to process what’s going on.”
Patterson was arrested at a Cobb County apartment complex on Wednesday night and taken to Atlanta Public Safety Headquarters.
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