Overview
- Billy Joe Cagle, 49, was taken into custody inside Hartsfield-Jackson’s South Terminal within minutes of an alert, and he was unarmed at the time of arrest.
- Relatives told Cartersville police he had livestreamed threats to "shoot it up," prompting a 9:40 a.m. alert that led Atlanta officers to locate him by 9:54 a.m.
- A Springfield AR-15–style rifle with 27 rounds was recovered from his pickup truck parked curbside outside the terminal, and officials said no active threat remained.
- Cagle, a convicted felon, faces charges including 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 felon.
- The FBI is assisting Atlanta police on motive and how Cagle obtained the rifle, and city leaders credited the family’s warning and rapid coordination with averting potential mass casualties.