All five people shot Wednesday at a medical facility in Midtown were women, according to Atlanta police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
The victims’ names have not been released, and it is still too early to say why they were shot, Schierbaum said during an afternoon news conference. The search for the shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, is active and now stretches from Atlanta into Cobb County.
“We have a multijurisdictional effort underway to bring this individual to justice and ensure that we remove him from the street,” Schierbaum said. “Everyone should consider him still armed and presenting a danger to whatever community he may find himself in.”
The shootings happened at about 12:08 p.m. in a waiting room of an upper-level office at the Northside Hospital Midtown medical building on West Peachtree Street. Police believe Patterson left the building, carjacked a vehicle a short distance away and fled the scene before officers arrived, according to Schierbaum.
A 39-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Four other women, ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, were rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital. Three remain in critical condition, and one was considered stable, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Jansen.
Schierbaum said it is too early to know if the women were patients or employees at Northside. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said his office was working to get in contact with their families.
Patterson’s family is cooperating with the investigation, Schierbaum said. Despite initial news reports, his mother, who according to public record is a licensed nurse, is not among the victims.
Schierbaum said police are following up on “credible leads” that Patterson may be in Cobb, or he may still be in the city of Atlanta. The vehicle he allegedly carjacked has been recovered, the chief said.
Dickens urged members of the public to be vigilant and to call 911 if they see Patterson.
“I am very confident that the men and women of the Atlanta Police Department and the other local agencies are well trained to make sure we bring this individual to justice,” Dickens said.
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