Atlanta, GA
Atlanta shooting: Everything we know so far about suspect Raïssa Kengne and the three victims
Two individuals are useless and one wounded in what police described as a focused capturing spree in midtown Atlanta on Monday.
Michael Shinners, 60, and Wesley Freeman, 41, had been killed within the assaults, whereas police mentioned they arrested one feminine suspect.
An e-mail from metropolis transit bosses to their workers named the suspect as Raïssa Kengne, whose LinkedIn web page describes her as an data safety auditor dwelling in Atlanta.
Whereas police had been nonetheless investigating the capturing’s motive as of Monday evening, each victims had been named as defendants in a lawsuit apparently filed by Ms Kengne and seen by The Impartial.
Here is every little thing we learn about Raïssa Kengne and the capturing in Atlanta.
What occurred?
The capturing unfolded in two separate areas in midtown Atlanta on Monday.
In response to police, the primary photographs had been fired round 1:45 at a condominium constructing referred to as 1280 West, the place Mr Shinners was discovered useless on the scene and one different sufferer was discovered injured.
Residents instructed native broadcaster CBS 46 that the suspect lived within the condominium constructing, which is identical one given as Ms Kengne’s handle in her lawsuit.
Whereas police had been nonetheless investigating, a second capturing occurred at close by 1100 Peachtree Road, a outstanding skyscraper near bustling Colony Sq., the place Wesley Freeman was shot. He later died of his wounds in hospital.
Officers used Atlanta’s community of safety cameras to trace the suspect, lastly swooping on her on the worldwide terminal of Hartsfield-Jackson Worldwide Airport round 4pm.
The pressure had earlier mentioned it believed the suspect referred to as an app-based taxi service to depart the scene.
In response, police locked down Colony Sq., blocked streets, and instructed native staff to remain inside their buildings.
Who’s the suspect?
Police didn’t identify the suspect on Monday, solely saying she was feminine and releasing blurry CCTV photographs of her.
Nonetheless, based on CBS 46, an e-mail despatched out to workers of Atlanta’s metro rail system, MARTA, named the suspect as Raissa Kengne.
A supply inside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confirmed that identify to WSB Channel 2, saying Ms Kengne had been arrested by ATF officers with a 9mm Glock pistol in her purse.
Images launched by the police pressure, and one other posted on Twitter by radio host Brian Moote, confirmed a Black lady carrying glasses and a black and white striped shirt surrounded by regulation enforcement officers.
Atlanta police mentioned that they consider the victims had been particularly focused, however are nonetheless searching for a motive.
“We don’t consider these had been random acts of violence,” mentioned interim police chief Darrin Schierbaum at a press convention on Monday afternoon.
He added that officers had recovered the gun used within the capturing on the airport.
What can we learn about Raïssa Kengne?
In response to official sources, not a lot. However a LinkedIn web page apparently belonging to the suspect, and a lawsuit bearing her identify, might present some clues about her actions.
Raïssa Kengne’s LinkedIn web page describes her as an skilled data safety auditor and a graduate of Georgia State College. Her profile image appears much like the picture tweeted by Mr Moote.
Furthermore, within the week main as much as the capturing, Ms Kengne made a collection of LinkedIn posts alleging that she had suffered retaliation for being a whistleblower at her former employer, a significant accounting agency that lists its Atlanta workplace handle as 1100 Peachtree Road.
One submit particularly named her former colleague Wesley Freeman, disparaging his work and accusing him of fraud. Different posts alleged that the corporate had conspired together with her condominium constructing supervisor to interrupt into her dwelling and “delete proof”.
Each Mr Freeman and Mr Shinners had been named as defendants in a 407-page authorized criticism filed by Ms Kengne in Could, claiming that they engaged in a sprawling conspiracy that additionally included her former employer, her former purchasers, considered one of her neighbours, and her personal attorneys.
“This case considerations the retaliation, persecution, harassment, intimidation, threats, housebreaking, laptop hacking, cellphone spoofing, and different assaults the Plaintiff was subjected to upon reporting to the related authorities a violation of [various finance laws],” the criticism reads.
It is not clear how grounded these claims are in actuality, and neither Ms Kengne’s former employer nor her constructing supervisor instantly responded to requests for remark.
Within the model of the lawsuit seen by The Impartial, solely Ms Kengne’s neighbour Justin Mungal had but responded intimately to the lawsuit, calling her criticism a “shotgun pleading” and denying her allegations.