Deion Patterson, 24, who served in the Coast Guard for five years, was attending an appointment to get anxiety medicine with his mother on Wednesday morning when he became ‘furious’ in the lobby and opened fire.
A 39-year-old woman was killed in the shooting in the hospital waiting room on the 11th floor, with four other women – aged 71, 56, 39 and 26 – all injured.
The hijacked vehicle Patterson escaped in was seen near Truist Park and The Battery in Cobb County, CNN reported on Wednesday evening. He has been described by cops as ‘armed and dangerous’.
Hospital officials confirmed that three of the injured people underwent surgery – one was shot in the arm, one in the face, and a third in the abdomen.
The fourth patient is still in the trauma unit.The shooter’s mother Minyone Patterson, told The Daily Beast: ‘The damn VA gave him some messed up medication. And all he wanted was an Ativan (pill for anxiety).’
It was initially reported that she was harmed during the shooting but police have since confirmed she was uninjured.
According to DailyMail, police were called to Northside Medical Hospital Midtown, on West Peachtree Street, after reports of an active shooter inside a building at 12.08pm.
Patterson is believed to have carjacked a vehicle and fled the scene shortly before law enforcement arrived.
Four victims were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment while another was pronounced dead on the scene.
The three that underwent surgery were described by the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Jansen as having ‘particularly serious’ injuries.
