Mass Shooting Plot At Atlanta Airport Thwarted: Officials

Updated 4:20 p.m.

ATLANTA, GA — A man was arrested after threatening to "shoot up" Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said Billy Joe Cagle, 49, of Cartersville, was arrested in connection with the case. Dickens said 27 lives could have been lost during the incident.

Cagle has a history of mental illness, is a convicted felon and was in possession of a semiautomatic weapon, Dickens said.

"When you have those combinations together, it can turn out to be deadly," Dickens said. "... We're thankful to God and to good information and good intel and good people for this crisis being averted."

How It Happened

After viewing Cagle's social media live stream, Schierbaum said his family told Cartersville Police that Cagle was en route to "shoot up" Hartsfield. Schierbaum said Cagle told family members he was heading to Atlanta.

"... He had intention to inflict harm on as many people as he could," Cartersville Police Capt. Greg Sparacio said at a news conference.

Cagle arrived around 9:30 a.m. to Hartsfield, where he parked and left his Chevy flatbed truck near the airport's South Terminal, Schierbaum said.

He showed interest in the Transportation Security Administration line, where a crowd was located, Schierbaum said.

At 9:40 a.m., Schierbaum said Cartersville PD alerted Atlanta Police to the matter, and Cagle was arrested 14 minutes later.

An AR-15 assault rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition was found in his vehicle, Schierbaum said.

"We did have a tragedy averted today," the chief said. "... We're here briefing you today on a success and not a tragedy because a family knew something and said something."

Cagle was arrested on charges of 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 convicted felon, Schierbaum said.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, said her daughter and son-in-law were at the airport Monday.

"Thank God the police caught the would be mass shooter before he committed mass murder at the Atlanta airport," Greene tweeted. "I can’t thank the police enough for acting swiftly to save everyone."

Sparacio said Cagle is known to Cartersville PD as he has a criminal history in the Bartow County town.