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As it happenedended

Atlanta shooting: Suspect Raïssa Kengne appears in court as police release chilling 911 calls

Tributes meanwhile paid to victims at condo where attack took place

Graig Graziosi,Io Dodds ,Arpan Rai,Gino Spocchia
Thursday 25 August 2022 11:03 BST
Suspect in deadly Midtown Atlanta shootings speaks up after judge asks her to be silent during hearing

The woman accused of shooting three people and sending offices into lockdown in midtown Atlanta on Monday has been denied bail.

Raïssa Kengne, 34, appeared before a court in Tuesday afternoon accused of assaulting three people with a firearm and killing two of them, and was ordered to remain in detention.

The first attack took place at Ms Kengne’s luxury condo complex, with a second bout of gunfire erupting minutes later at an office building four blocks away.

Michael Shinners, 60, a building manager in Ms Kengne’s luxury condo complex, died at the scene, while Wesley Freeman, 41, who seems to have been a former colleague of Ms Kengne, died later in hospital.

While police are still probing the motive of the shooting, Ms Kengne appears to have made a series of LinkedIn posts and filed a lawsuit accusing Mr Freeman and her building managers of conspiring against her.

Officers said they believed the victims had been targeted specifically.

Victims named as Wesley Freeman and Michael Shinners

The shooting victims have been named as Wesley Freeman, 41, and Michael Shinners, 60, according to local media reports.

CBS 46 anchor Shon Gables broke the news on Twitter, citing the Fulton County medical examiner.

Notably, both Mr Freeman and Mr Shinners were named as defendants in the lawsuit filed by Raïssa Kengne earlier this year, claiming that they were involved in a conspiracy against her.

Mr Freeman's own LinkedIn page describes him as an information security auditor who has worked at Ms Kengne's former employer for nearly 17 years.

Mr Shinners, meanwhile, is identified in Ms Kengne's lawsuit as the general manager of her apartment complex at 1280 West Peachtree St.

Io Dodds23 August 2022 01:47

Video shows police entering buildings near shooting

Witness videos given to Atlanta news broadcaster 11 Alive show police officers responding to the shooting on Monday.

The clips show officers in body armour carrying rifles walking into businesses near Colony Square and a building lobby near Juniper St and 14th St.

Io Dodds23 August 2022 02:51

Residents say the shooter targeted building managers

The first shooting was a targeted attack on management staff at the apartment building where the suspect lived, according to CBS 46.

Residents at the scene of the first shooting told reporter Patrick Quinn that the suspect lived in their building.

They said that the shooter targeted apartment management staff on the plaza level of the complex.

Io Dodds23 August 2022 03:59

Pictured: Female suspect seized in Atlanta airport as two dead in shooting

The Atlanta police department arrested a female suspect who allegedly shot dead two victims and wounded one other in the city on Monday, according to officials.

The suspected woman was held by police officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and “taken into custody without incident.”

Visuals from the airport showed the suspected woman in handcuffs at the airport. Witnesses present at the time of police taking the women into custody said that the events leading to the arrest were lowkey and did not peril the safety of those present at the airport.

“***SUSPECT IN CUSTODY***” the department tweeted shortly after that.

APD says that the city’s “extensive camera network” helped them locate the suspect, who has not been named, at the airport.

The arrest came after APD had released surveillance video images of the female they say shot the three people at Colony Square in Midtown on Monday.

Read the full report on the Midtown shooting here:

Female suspect seized in Atlanta airport as two dead in shooting

APD says that the city’s ‘extensive camera network’ helped them track down suspect

Arpan Rai23 August 2022 05:06

Victim's mother in law speaks out

A woman has spoken out claiming to the mother in law of shooting victim Wesley Freeman.

"Please pray for my family," said Janice Gardner on Facebook on Monday. "My daughter’s husband Wes was one of the victims in the shooting today. He passed away a couple of hours ago. Thanks for your prayers."

Io Dodds23 August 2022 06:15

ATF also names suspect as Raissa Kengne

A source inside the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (known as the ATF) has confirmed the suspect's identity as Raissa Kengne, according to WSBTV Channel 2.

The source said Ms Kengne was arrested by ATF agents the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with a 9mm Glock pistol in her purse after a taxi company told officers it had ferried her there.

The ATF was among numerous local and federal law enforcement agencies given thanks by Atlanta's police department on Monday.

Io Dodds23 August 2022 06:23

Reason behind Midtown shooting, targeting victims unclear - Atlanta police

Atlanta police officials have said that the reason behind Monday’s shooting incident is not immediately clear, and they do not know what prompted the attack or whether the victims were targeted.

However, the police confirmed that they were able to locate the suspected shooter at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, just hours after the incident, with the help of an “extensive camera network”.

Arpan Rai23 August 2022 07:09

Probing if victims were shot randomly - Atlanta police

Atlanta police said they are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the shootings reported on Monday.

The officials said that “it is unclear what led to the shootings”.

We are investigating the connection between the locations, the police department said in a statement.

They added: “We are working to determine whether the victims were targeted by the suspect or whether any of the victims were shot randomly.”

Arpan Rai23 August 2022 08:10

Workers describe midtown lockdowns

Office workers whose buildings went on lockdown during the shooting have described the situation to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jaylen Green said that when his building's active shooter alarm went off, he feared the shooter might actually be inside his workplace.

”We didn’t understand that what was happening outside was different from what was happening in the building. We assumed there was an active shooter in our building," he said.

Another nearby worker, Tori Alexas, said her building was kept under lockdown for two hours.

"Around 2 o’clock the sirens started going off and then they slowly started blocking off the road," she said. "I don’t want to have this fear of leaving work and having to look out for a shooter now."

Io Dodds23 August 2022 08:37

Atlanta shooting: All we know about suspect Raïssa Kengne and three victims

The Atlanta police department did not name the suspect in the Midtown shooting incident on Monday and only said she was female. The department also released blurry CCTV photos of her.

However, according to CBS 46, an email sent out to employees of Atlanta’s metro rail system, MARTA, named the suspect as Raissa Kengne.

The photos released by the police force, and another posted on Twitter by radio host Brian Moote, showed a Black woman wearing glasses and a black and white striped shirt surrounded by law enforcement officers.

A source within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confirmed that name to WSB Channel 2, saying Ms Kengne had been arrested by ATF officers with a 9mm Glock pistol in her purse.

Read the full story here:

Atlanta shooting: Everything we know so far about suspect Raïssa Kengne

While police are still investigating the shooter’s motives, social media posts and a lawsuit apparently filed by the suspect may offer clues

Arpan Rai23 August 2022 09:19

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