A potential mass shooting was prevented at the nation’s busiest airport Monday after a Georgia family alerted police that their relative was armed and threatening to “shoot it up.”
Authorities arrested Billy Joe Cagle, 51, inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after his family warned he was heading there with violent intent, according to CNN and FOX 5 Atlanta.
Officers detained Cagle at 9:54 a.m., minutes after Cartersville police relayed an alert with his photo. Surveillance video showed he entered through Door S1 at 9:31 a.m. and lingered near a crowded TSA checkpoint before officers located him.
Cagle was unarmed when arrested, but police said they found a loaded AR-15-style rifle with one round in the chamber and 26 in the magazine inside his truck parked outside the South Terminal.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum called the case a “tragedy averted,” praising the family’s quick action and coordination between Cartersville and Atlanta officers.
“They saw something, and they said something,” Schierbaum said, crediting Officers Gibson and Banks and Sgt. Jones for their decisive response.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the incident shows how mental-health challenges combined with access to weapons “can turn out to be deadly,” adding that family intervention prevented a potential mass-casualty event.
Cagle faces charges of 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. State records show a prior marijuana conviction more than 20 years ago.
The arrest came as Transportation Security Administration wait times lengthened amid the third week of the federal government shutdown, which has left some federal employees working without pay and contributed to staffing shortages across key agencies.