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2 shot at CNN Center

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 04/03/07 1:42 PM

A suspect is in custody after a shooting at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta.

Atlanta police spokesman Steve Coleman said two people - the victim and the suspect - had been shot at about 1:30 p.m.

Atlanta police Sgt. S. Speed, who works in the Zone 5 office inside CNN Center, said “the situation is under control.” Speed said the shooting occurred in the upstairs lobby of the Omni Hotel. She said a female victim and a male believed to be a the shooting suspect, had been transported to a hospital.

CNN evacuated its downstairs newsroom, which includes its CNN.com operations. People were told to move away from the windows and then escorted out of the offices as police determined where the shooting took place.

When CNN employees heard the shot, some at first thought someone had dropped something.

Suddenly, staffers started running.

“It was a human tsunami in the CNN newsroom,” said a Web site producer at CNN who didn’t give his name per company policy.

Employees started running in different directions, many taking refuge in the CNN.com area, which is farthest from the windows that overlook the atrium, the producer said.

The newsroom was fully staffed at the time of the shooting.

The Atlanta fire department has roped off the Marietta-street side of CNN Center and people are not being allowed to enter the Omni Hotel area.

Rico Wilson, 24, was in the food court at CNN Center when the gunfire erupted.

“Anytime I hear shots fired, I take off in the opposite direction,” said Wilson, an IT consultant.

“I just tried to get ahead of the crowd,” said Wilson, who ran out a side door near Philips Arena. “It was like confusion. Nobody knew what was going on.”

“I looked behind me and saw a stampede. It was a lot of kids running, teenagers and a lot of people.”

Don Shields, manager of the Braves Store in CNN Center, said he heard about three to five shots coming from the toward the Marietta Street entrance to CNN Center.

“All I heard was gunshots, then 25 or 30 people started to run,” Shields said. He said he let people take cover in the back room of his store.

When asked how many shots he heard, he said, “I couldn’t count them. It’s something you don’t expect.”