Atlanta Man Charged in Series of Deadly Shootings, Drawing National Attention

Thu Apr 16 2026 05:45:24 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A tragic series of shootings in Atlanta has resulted in two women dead and a man hospitalized in critical condition, with implications regarding U.S. citizenship and security policies.

In Atlanta, Olaolukitan Adon Abel, a U.K. native, has been charged in connection with a series of violent attacks that resulted in the deaths of two women, including Lauren Bullis, an employee of the Department of Homeland Security. The incidents have raised concerns about Abel's recent U.S. citizenship, as he was granted citizenship in 2022 despite a prior criminal history. Authorities are investigating the randomness of the attacks on the victims, while Secretary of Homeland Security seeks accountability as the community mourns.

ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta man has been charged in a string of attacks over a matter of hours that left two women dead and a man in critical condition, drawing the Trump administration’s attention after one of the victims was identified as a Department of Homeland Security employee who was walking her dog.

The killing of the DHS worker, Lauren Bullis, and shootings of the two other victims on Monday led Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin to issue a statement raising concerns that the 26-year-old defendant, U.K.-native Olaolukitan Adon Abel, was granted U.S. citizenship in 2022, when Democrat Joe Biden was president.

“These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department and my prayers are with the families of the victims,” Mullin wrote in a statement posted on social media, cataloging a litany of the defendant’s previous alleged crimes but not specifying whether they happened before he was granted citizenship.

Authorities have said they believe at least one of the victims, the man who was wounded, was targeted at random. They said they were still looking into whether the other two victims were also picked randomly.

The first victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds near a restaurant in the Decatur area at around 1 a.m. Monday. She was taken to a hospital but died. About an hour later in Brookhaven, another Atlanta suburb, a 49-year-old homeless man was shot multiple times while sleeping outside a grocery store. Just before 7 a.m., Bullis was found in another location with gunshot and stab wounds. She died at the scene.

Adon Abel was taken into custody later Monday during a traffic stop in Troup County, which borders Alabama. He is charged with two counts of malice murder, aggravated assault, and firearm counts. Mullin's comment on Abel’s citizenship status heightens ongoing debates surrounding U.S. immigration policies.