According to CNN, suspect Deion Patterson became “agitated” and opened fire with a handgun inside the waiting room at Northside Medical Midtown hospital in Atlanta. Before the attack at the Georgia facility, Patterson was not eating regularly and was having trouble getting out of bed, his sister told The Times. Patterson was at the Midtown hospital for help, she said. Per WGCU, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum called Patterson’s previous contact with law enforcement “minimal.”
Speaking with the Associated Press, Patterson’s mother, Minyone Patterson, said her son had recently started new medication — provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs — after he was denied Ativan, an anxiety drug, on the grounds it was too addictive. Minyone, a nurse, told the VA he would take the correct dosage. Misuse of Ativan can lead to addiction, according to WebMD.
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After the shooting, Patterson remained inside the hospital for several minutes before escaping on foot. He fled in a stolen pickup truck, left running and unattended at a nearby gas station. Patterson’s arrest was aided by the license plate of the vehicle, which was picked up by an automated license plate reader. The Patterson search was citywide and spanned several nearby counties. Still armed, he was apprehended inside Waterford place, a gated condominium community a short distance from where the shooting happened.
