Mass Shooting At America’s Busiest Airport Averted Thanks To Tip From Family, Police Say

Police stopped a potential mass shooting on Monday when a 49-year-old man was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International after he allegedly threatened to “shoot up” the nation’s busiest airport before he drove there armed with a semiautomatic rifle.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said at a press conference that a major tragedy was “averted.” The mayor said the suspect is from Cartersville, Georgia, and is “mentally challenged.” Cartersville is located just over 50 miles northwest of the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport International Airport.

The suspect was identified as Billy Joe Cagle, a convicted felon, who said over a livestream video that he planned on shooting people at the airport, according to Atlanta Police Department Chief Darin Schierbaum. After family members saw Cagle’s video, they notified the Cartersville Police Department, which then notified the Atlanta Police Department. Cagle’s family also warned police that he was in possession of a firearm.

Just 14 minutes after Atlanta Police were notified of the threat, Cagle was arrested in the airport. Police also found a semiautomatic rifle in the his vehicle, which was parked outside.

Airport security footage released by police at the press conference showed Cagle arriving at the airport at 9:29 a.m. and parking his Chevy flatbed pickup truck next to a terminal entrance. The suspect then entered the south domestic terminal, but was not armed when he walked into the airport.

“From video we will show you, he seemed to be very interested in the TSA check-in area, which you can see was heavily, heavily crowded with travelers,” Schierbaum said.

The security footage showed Cagle walking around the TSA check-in area with his phone in hand. Bodycam footage also released at the press conference show Atlanta Police Department officers confronting Cagle before taking him down to the ground and placing handcuffs on him. Schierbaum said that officers had to use two handcuffs to detain Cagle because of his size, adding that the suspect is 6’3 and 320 pounds. Cagle was taken into custody at 9:54 a.m., less than 30 minutes after he arrived at the airport.

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When authorities searched the suspect’s truck, they found a Springfield 5.56 Saint Victor AR-15 rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition.

“We did have a tragedy averted today,” the police chief said, adding that if the police officers had not stopped him at that time, he believes the suspect was planning on retrieving the rifle from his pickup truck and firing upon people in the crowded terminal.

“We’re here today briefing you on a success and not a tragedy because a family saw something and said something,” Schierbaum said.

Cagle faces charges of making terroristic threats, criminal attempt to commit aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The FBI is assisting local authorities as the investigation continues.