Midtown mass shooter facing multiple charges, victim identified

By Miles Montgomery and Jennifer Lifsey

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — The 24-year-old man who was wanted in connection to the deadly Midtown Atlanta shooting on Wednesday afternoon has been arrested and is in custody, officials confirmed to Atlanta News First.

The U.S. Marshals office and Cobb County Police said the alleged shooter, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was in custody as of 8 p.m.

Several Georgia officials, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, provided an update at a press conference after the alleged gunman in the shooting was brought into custody.

“Law enforcement has taken the suspect into custody. He will be charged and stand trial for his crimes. Our law enforcement kept us safe during an enormously tense afternoon and evening,” Mayor Dickens said. “I want to thank our citizens for keeping calm, staying in place, and providing us with important information throughout the day.

Chief of Atlanta Police Darin Schierbaum said Patterson left the city and remained a threat everywhere. “To see the paramedics and firefighters when we did not know where the shooter was that could’ve easily still been in the building or around the corner. To see them go into that situation, today when it was necessary to save lives, we were very proud to see a strong partnership as we moved into that dangerous situation.”

“He spent about two minutes inside the building where he exited on foot,” Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said. “What we were able to pick up on the camera network systems was he went to a Shell gas station where he commandeered a vehicle.”

Officials added that Patterson allegedly stole a pickup truck from 14th Street and Williams Street not long after the shooting and was since recovered by law enforcement in Cobb County. Officials then traced the license plate of the stolen truck using their license system. It was found running and unattended near The Battery.

“Around 12:30 p.m., we received an alert that he was in Cobb County,” Hampton Jr. said. “Atlanta police officials notified the Cobb County Police Department to work together to capture Patterson.”

Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer expressed collective condolences to the victims and their families.

“These are massively complicated investigations,” said Chief VanHoozer. “Information comes in so quickly and is so confusing and so contradicting that we find that we are often going to three or four different places. It was a very chaotic scene. There was some fear of course with some citizens in the area. Technology played a huge role, but technology doesn’t do any good without people who are determined to capture an individual who would do something like this.”

The shooting happened just after noon in the waiting room of Northside Medical Midtown at 1100 West Peachtree Street, which houses several medical offices and is operated by Northside Hospital. Officials say the building will be closed Thursday and all patient appointments are canceled.

Police say Patterson was at the clinic because he had an appointment there himself. Atlanta News First spoke with one man who was in the waiting room while the shooting was happening.

“Actually, I was more concerned about this little 7-year-old girl and her mother who were just about to walk out the door at that time and she didn’t know what was going on obviously, so, the whole time, I was trying to just distract her from all the other commotion that was going on because I just felt bad for her because I have a 4-year-old myself, so, I couldn’t imagine having my child in that kind of situation,’ said Michael, a witness to the shooting.

Patterson faces murder and four counts of aggravated assault. He was booked into Fulton County Jail, officials said.

The victim in the shooting has been identified as 39-year-old Amy St. Pierre, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner.

CDC Director of Medicine confirmed to Atlanta News First that St. Pierre was an employee and gave the following statement.

“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,” officials said.

Atlanta News First spoke directly to the mother of the suspected Northside Medical Center shooter. She issued an apology to the city of Atlanta, and apologized to the victim’s families. Her full statement is as follows:

First and foremost, I want to give my sincere, sincere apology to the families that were injured and killed. My son was always a protector. No one that would hurt anybody. And even in his time of need, he was still trying to help others. That’s just the person he’s always been. A happy, beautiful child. Always. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know right now. Please. This mental illness is real, and when we say it’s real, from the medical standpoint, it is real. And when someone is saying they need help, or you see that they are acting out of sorts, they need help. Help them, just don’t disregard them. They need help, and as I’m trying to advocate for my son he was turned away. Just be careful.

Minyone Patterson, Mother of Deion Patterson

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