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
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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.
ICYMI: Suspect had filed lawsuit against two victims
Two of the Atlanta shooting victims were named in a lawsuit apparently filed by suspect Raïssa Kengne this May.
In a 407-page complaint spotted by Kevin D Reyes, an open source intelligence analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and reviewed by The Independent, Raissa Djuissi Kengne accuses her former company, former colleagues, former clients, her building manager, one of her neighbours, and her own lawyers of engaging in a conspiracy against her.
"This case concerns the retaliation, persecution, harassment, intimidation, threats, burglary, computer hacking, phone spoofng, and other attacks the Plaintiff was subjected to upon reporting to the relevant authorities a violation of [various finance laws]," the complaint reads.
In the version seen by The Independent, only Ms Kengne's neighbour Justin Mungal had yet responded in detail to the lawsuit, calling her complaint a "shotgun pleading" and denying her claims.
Mother describes how her daughter was shot at
The mother of a woman who was caught up in the shooting has spoken about her experience.
Tamesha Steed, whose daughter was working at the 1280 West apartment complex when the shooting began, told 11 Alive that her daughter was "pretty shook up".
"My daughter was shot at, but she's okay," said Ms Steed. "She is actually an employee here.... she did say the shooter had some medical conditions, so I don't know if this was something mental."
She added: "What they're saying is that the shooter was targeting employees of the building.... when I called to talk to my daughter, she was screaming through the phone, she was so shook."
She described the complex as "an upscale condo building", where her daughter had worked for about 6-8 months.
Medical examiner names victims, report says
Michael Shinners, 60 and Wesley Freeman, 41, have been identified by the medical examiner for Fulton County as the two victims killed in the shooting earlier that morning, according to 11Alive.
Police are yet to name the pair as those killed by the suspect, while a third person remains in hospital in an unconfirmed condition.
Shinners was one of two people shot at an apartment on 1280 West Peachtree St, Atlanta police said. Freeman was shot at a different building more than a mile away, on 1100 Peachtree Street.
Here’s what we know:
Two victims killed in Atlanta shooting identified
Suspect was detained at city’s international airport
Third victim named, remains hospitalised
The third shooting victim has reportedly been identified by his employer, Beacon Management Services, as Mike Horne, CBS46 reports.
Mr Horne is an engineer working at the apartment block where the first shooting took place on Monday morning at 1280 West Peachtree Street, his LinkedIn profile suggests.
He is thought to remain in an ICU and required surgery after being shot alongside Michael Shinners, who died at the scene.
Tributes paid to condo building manager
Friends and residents of the apartment building where 60-year-old Michael Shinners was killed have since paid tribute.
“Micheal Shinners was an above and beyond building manager. He was loved by our community. The events today are shocking and he can never be replaced. We are deeply saddened,” said resident Brian Hall to CBS46.
“He always had a smile on his face, and had a gift to also make others smile with his awesome sense of humour,” a former colleague, Jennifer Cheek, added on Facebook. “He was so kind and light hearted.”
Another resident of 1280 West Peachtree Street, David Lowery, added: “I don’t know these folks names but anyone who parks a car here or walks their dog sees them on a regular basis, certainly I know their faces. What a tragedy.”
Reports suggest Shinners was shot along with a colleague, engineer Mike Horne, who remains in hospital. The suspect was thought to have targeted the pair, police said.
Suspect was ‘disgruntled resident’, condo company says
The suspect in Monday’s Atlanta shooting was a resident of the same condo building where two employees were shot, killing one and wounding another.
Lisa Simmons, the president of the company managing 1280 West Peachtree Street, told WSB-TV that Raïssa Kengne was a “disgruntled resident of the building,” the news outlet reported on Tuesday.
Social media accounts from witnesses as well as local news media had suggested that she lived at the building and had targeted condo manager Michael Shinners and chief building engineering Mike Horne, who both worked for Beacon Management Services
ICYMI: Everything we know
With an investigation into Monday’s shooting in Midtown Atlanta still ongoing, here’s everything we know so far about what happened, who the suspect was, and why the victims might have been targeted:
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
Authorities release image of suspect
The suspect from Monday’s shooting in Atlanta has appeared in an image obtained by WSB-TV, who said on Tuesday that an official working for the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Raïssa Kengne was arrested by an ATF officer at Atlanta’s international airport on Monda before Atlanta police arrived at the scene, the report added.
Suspect due in court
The suspect in Monday’s shooting in Midtown, Atlanta, is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday at 4pm local time, according to WSB-TV.
Police are yet to publicly name Raïssa Kengne as the woman taken into custody after shooting three people in a spree across Midtown, causing two deaths.
It will be her first appearance in court, with CBS46 reporting that she faces murder and aggravated assault charges.
Condition of third victim remain unknown
Lisa Simmons, the president of Beacon Management Services, told WSB-TV that her company employed both Michael Shinners, who died at the scene of the shooing, and Mike Horne, who remains in hospial.
She confirmed Mr Horne was a chief building engineer and that his current condition is unknown.
CBS46 reported earlier that he required surgery as a result of his injuries and was in an ICU unit, although details are scarce.