Police arrest man at Atlanta airport after getting tip he was planning to ‘shoot it up’ | US crime

Police arrested a man at Atlanta’s bustling airport on Monday after receiving a tip from his family that he planned to open fire there, and found an assault rifle and ammunition in his truck outside, the city’s police chief said.

Billy Joe Cagle of Cartersville, Georgia, announced his plan to hit the world’s busiest airport in a social media livestream, police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference.

“The Cartersville Police Department was alerted by Mr. Cagle’s family that he had reported on social media that he had gone to the Atlanta airport to, in their words, ‘shoot up,’ and the family stated that he was in possession of an assault rifle,” Schierbaum said. he said.

Cagle, 49, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international airport in a Chevrolet pickup truck parked just outside the airport terminal. When police went to the vehicle, they found an AR-15 with 27 bullets inside, Schierbaum said.

“We’re here today to tell you about a success, not a tragedy, because one family saw something and said something,” the chief said.

Cartersville police Chief Greg Sparacio, whose department first received the tip from family members, said Cagle “intended to hurt as many people as possible.”

During the news conference, police showed surveillance video of Cagle arriving at the airport and officers’ body-worn camera video of Cagle’s arrest.

A Chevrolet flatbed pickup truck is seen arriving curbside at the airport terminal around 9:30 a.m., and then a man, identified by police as Cagle, is seen entering the airport a few minutes later. Schierbaum said he walked toward the Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint and was “very interested in this area.”

Body camera footage shows Atlanta police officers, who had a photo provided by Cagle’s family on their phone, approaching Cagle and beginning to ask questions before taking him into custody. Cagle can be heard screaming as they pin him to the ground and handcuff him.

Cagle was charged with making terroristic threats, attempted aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during a felony and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, Schierbaum said.

Cagle was booked into the Clayton County detention facility Monday evening, according to online jail records. Attempts to reach his family and co-workers through multiple phone numbers and emails were unsuccessful. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment on the charges.

Nick Roberts, who has known Cagle since high school, texted his friend Sunday night after becoming concerned about his Facebook posts. He said Cagle struggled with mental health issues. Cagle had posted on Facebook early Sunday that he was schizophrenic and was taking medication.

Roberts said Cagle called him around 9 p.m. Sunday night and assured him he was okay. Roberts said Cagle loved his two daughters and worked hard hauling hay and doing fencing work.

“I want people to know he’s not a monster,” Roberts said. “This was a huge surprise to many of us who went to high school with him and knew him around.”

Schierbaum said Atlanta police will work with federal authorities to determine how he obtained the gun, which he “cannot legally possess.”

“We thank God” that a tragedy was averted, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.

“We are grateful to God, good information, good intelligence and good people that this crisis was averted,” Dickens said.

Kristi Noem, the US secretary of homeland security, said in a post on social platform X: “I am grateful that this individual was taken into custody by law enforcement without harming anyone.”