A man who appeared to be planning a large-scale attack at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was arrested Monday after his family alerted law enforcement officials that he was on his way there to “shoot it up,” authorities said.
The man, Billy J. Cagle, 49, a felon, was arrested at the airport and charged with making terroristic threats, an attempt to commit aggravated assault and other firearms charges, Chief Darin Schierbaum of the Atlanta Police Department said at a news conference Monday.
Police officers found an AR-15-style rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition inside the Chevrolet flatbed pickup truck that Cagle had parked directly outside the airport, authorities said. They said they were looking into how Cagle, who couldn’t legally own a gun, had obtained it. His criminal history includes an arrest for drug possession in Cartersville, Georgia, authorities said.
Authorities were alerted to a potential threat at the airport around 9:40 a.m. after Cagle’s family informed them “that he was streaming on social media that he was headed to the airport, in their words, ‘to shoot it up,’” Schierbaum said.
“What we didn’t know is that Mr. Cagle had already arrived at the airport,” he said.
Cagle pulled up outside the airport at 9:29 a.m. and entered the Domestic Terminal South a few minutes later, the chief said. He added that Cagle “seemed to be very interested in the TSA check-in area,” which was heavily crowded with travelers at the time.
Around 9:54 a.m., Cagle, who is 6-foot-3, was arrested by police officers, who needed two sets of handcuffs to restrain him because of his size, authorities said.
Video footage played at the news conference showed Cagle, wearing a light blue polo top, entering the airport and striding through a crowd of travelers before officers identified him and pinned him to the ground. Cagle can be heard yelling. Authorities were able to find the pickup truck.
Schierbaum said he believed Cagle was headed back to the truck to retrieve the rifle, and that he was “likely” to use it inside the crowded terminal.
“We’re here today briefing you on a success and not a tragedy,” he said, “because a family saw something and said something.”
Speaking at the news conference, Mayor Andre Dickens of Atlanta described Cagle as “mentally challenged” and said that thanks to the information from his family and the swift response of law enforcement officers, a crisis was averted.
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