ATLANTA — One day after a fatal mass shooting at a Midtown medical center led to a manhunt that crossed county lines, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum is sharing more details into the suspected gunman and the bravery of those who helped bring him into custody.
While Atlanta Police can’t share details that could compromise the case, they did confirm that Deion Patterson had an appointment at the office where the shooting took place, but the 24-year-old was running late.
Furthermore, Schierbaum explained that Patterson is not cooperating with APD investigators.
“Yesterday, at this very moment, was a time of uncertainty and fear in our city,” Schierbaum said.
The city is still healing less than 24 hours after Patterson was arrested for allegedly shooting five women at the 11th floor of Northside Medical Midtown at 1110 West Peachtree St. NW. One woman died from her injuries.
“The citizens of this city want answers, America wants answers, our officers our investigators are working to get the accurate picture of what would motivate someone to do what they did yesterday,” Schierbaum said.
Schierbaum believes metro Atlanta area is lucky more people weren’t shot and potentially killed, explaining that this situation could have been significantly worse. He credits the several agencies working together as a reason they were able to arrest the suspect before more people were hurt.
Schierbaum called it a "capable, competent and brave response" by law enforcement in a Wednesday evening press conference.
“You saw a lot of patches on the scene, you saw one focus, one mission of everyone that took the same oath to stop a very dangerous individual,” he said.
While the Midtown scene around the shooting is open like normal just one day later, those in the city will see more police there and throughout the city.
“You’ll see officers on patrol in vehicles, on foot, on bikes, just reassuring citizens," Schierbaum said.
The chief said besides police, the 911 operators, dispatch, firefighters and EMS personnel are the unsung heroes of the day -- and all were crucial in what led to the capture of Patterson without incident.
Still, with every active shooter situation there are lessons learned, so Chief Schierbaum said everyone from 911 operators to crime scene investigators are being asked to make notes on what worked and what could have been done better.
They will all turn that in for a debrief next week for further evaluation.
Schierbaum explained that there are three things you need to know to do to survive an active shooter.
“One, try to separate yourself as quickly as possible, effectively as possible by getting out of the building. If you can’t do that, shelter in place, barricade the door, and if that isn’t safe, you attack the person carrying out the attack,” he said.
During Wednesday's fatal shooting, Schierbaum said those who had the time to react did the right things.
“We had citizens that fled the scene, individuals that had taken shelter. [They] barricaded themselves in closets, in rooms, patient care areas, had fridges against the door, anything they’ve been trained to do,” Schierbaum said.
Schierbaum concluded by saying Atlanta is a much safer place today now that Patterson is off the streets.
Multiple police agencies and private companies offer active shooter training. For more information on what APD offers, click here.