Georgia man brought rifle to Atlanta airport after threatening to open fire on terminal, police say

Police say they have prevented a possible mass shooting at the Atlanta airport thanks to the hard work of multiple officers and a call from the suspected gunman’s family.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said that a Cartersville man who was having a mental health crisis drove to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with a semi-automatic weapon in his truck.

“Twenty-seven or more lives could have been lost today,” Dickens said during a press conference.

The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Billy Joe Cagle, appeared at the airport shortly after 9 a.m. That morning, the Cartersville Police received a call from Cagle’s family reporting that he had said during a livestream that he was headed to the airport to “shoot it up,” Atlanta Police Chief Darren Schierbaum said.

Officers found Cagle’s Chevrolet truck parked outside the airport at the South Terminal. In the backseat, they discovered a Springfield AR-15 assault rifle and 27 rounds of ammunition, Schierbaum said.

After receiving the alert with Cagle’s photo and description, two officers found him walking inside the South Terminal. Schierbaum said investigators believe he was scouting the area before he planned to return to his truck and collect his weapon. In body camera footage, Cagle told the officers that he had been dropped off at the airport and “was just here.”

Cagle was taken into custody in the terminal, less than 15 minutes after the Atlanta Police Department received the information from Cartersville law enforcement and about 25 minutes since he parked on the property.

Schierbaum thanked Cagle’s family for helping avert what he said could have become a tragedy.

“Today is how it should work,” Schierbaum said. “Community, law enforcement, dedicated men and women wearing the uniform and trained to respond when their community needs them.”

Dickens compared the incident to the recent deadly shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recent cases involving mental health and guns around Atlanta.

“We’re experiencing across the nation and even in this city where guns and mental health together can be deadly,” he said. “We’re thankful this crisis was averted today.”

Cagle is charged with 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.