Atlanta mass shooting: Suspect charged with murder, deceased victim identified
Rachel Schilke
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The suspect in the Atlanta mass shooting that killed one woman and injured four others was charged with murder on Thursday after being apprehended Wednesday following an hourslong manhunt.
Deion Patterson, 24, was charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault, according to Fulton County Jail records. He is awaiting his initial court appearance Thursday.
ATLANTA MASS SHOOTING: POLICE CAPTURE SUSPECTED GUNMAN AFTER MANHUNT
Patterson was arrested late Wednesday night after being detained in Cobb County, which is about 16 miles, or a half-hour away, from Fulton County, where the shooting took place.
A gunman went to Northside Hospital around 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday and opened fire, killing a 38-year-old woman and injuring four other women, ages 25, 39, 56, and 71 years old, Chief Darin Schierbaum said.
Schierbaum said it is unknown at this time whether the women injured were patients or employees. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office identified the 38-year-old woman fatally shot as Amy St. Pierre. She was originally reported as age 39.
St. Pierre worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
“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,” CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes said.
Three of the four injured women remain in the ICU at Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, and the fourth woman is in stable condition. Their identities have not been released.
One of the patients was admitted with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and another with a wound to the arm, a hospital representative told CNN. The third critical patient was shot in the face, the hospital said.
Northside Medical Midtown in Atlanta was closed on Thursday, and all patient appointments for the day have been canceled, the hospital announced on Twitter.
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Authorities said they were able to track Patterson after he carjacked a vehicle to escape from the hospital. An undercover police officer later saw and confronted Patterson, calling backup to help arrest him. He was arrested near the Truist Park baseball stadium around 7:45 p.m. without incident, police said.
Police said Patterson is a former Coast Guardsman and was discharged from active duty in January.