Man Arrested at Atlanta Airport After His Family Thwarted His Alleged Plans to ‘Shoot It Up': 'Tragedy Averted' By Ingrid Vasquez

A crisis was averted at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a man’s family informed local authorities of his alleged plan to “shoot it up.”

According to Atlanta Police Department Chief Darin Schierbaum at approximately 9:40 a.m. local time on Monday, Oct. 20, the APD was alerted by the Cartersville Police Department of a potential threat to the airport.

Schierbaum said during a press conference on Monday afternoon that the CPD received an alert from 49-year-old Cartersville, Georgia native Billy Joe Cagle’s family that he “was streaming on social media” and “was headed to the airport in their words to ‘shoot it up.’ ”

Captain Greg Sparacio of the Cartersville Police Department said that Cagle’s family informed the CPD that Cagle was en route to “somewhere in the Atlanta area,” and that he allegedly “had the intention to inflict harm to as many people as he could.”

He was described by Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens as allegedly having “mental challenges,” and being a felon. According to a Georgia Department of Corrections online search, Cagle was previously convicted of marijuana possession.

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Cagle parked his Chevrolet flatbed pickup truck outside of airport’s south terminal at 9:29 a.m. before stepping inside the building at 9:31 a.m. Schierbaum said surveillance footage showed that Cagle seemed to be “very interested in the TSA check-in,” which was “heavily crowded with travelers.”

In body camera footage shown during the press conference, officers approach Cagle with a photo of him on their phones and ask him questions before taking him to the ground while handcuffing him. Officers took Cagle into custody at 9:54 a.m., according to the police chief.

Inside his vehicle, officers found an AR-15 with 27 rounds of ammunition. Officers also found a dog in the truck that was turned over to the family, per Schierbaum.

Cagle was charged with terroristic threats, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, criminal attempt to commit aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, per Schierbaum and an APD press release.

A motive remains under investigation and the FBI said it is assisting in the investigation.

“We’re here today briefing you on a success and not a tragedy because a family saw something and said something,” said Schierbaum. “A family knew they had a family member in crisis. They knew they had access to firearms and they were on social media.”

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is recognized as the busiest airport in the world, with more than 108 million people flying through in 2024, per the Airports Council International.

The incident happened the same day that their airport advised passengers on X that they may experience longer than usual wait times at checkpoints due to TSA staffing shortages amid the government shutdown.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Transportation Security Administration and the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for comment.

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.