DHS employee identified as victim in Georgia spree shooting
A Department of Homeland Security employee was one of two women killed in the spree shooting across DeKalb County and Brookhaven, Georgia, that also left a homeless man critically injured, according to federal officials. She was randomly attacked while walking her dog.
The attacks unfolded early Monday across multiple scenes in the Atlanta area, beginning just after 12:50 a.m. at a Checkers restaurant on Wesley Chapel Road in unincorporated DeKalb County, where officers found an adult woman with multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Just before 2 a.m., Brookhaven police began receiving 911 calls about another shooting at Cherokee Plaza on Peachtree Road in Brookhaven, a city just northeast of Atlanta.
There, officers found a 49-year-old man on the sidewalk outside a Kroger who had been shot multiple times. Police believes the man, who was part of the area’s unhoused community, had been asleep when the suspect pulled into the shopping center and opened fire from his vehicle.
The man was taken to a hospital and remains in very critical condition. Police said they found no connection between the suspect and the victim and believe the attack was random.
At about 6:50 a.m., officers responding to Battle Forest Drive in unincorporated DeKalb found another adult woman who had been shot and stabbed. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed Wednesday that the woman killed there was Lauren Bullis, a DHS employee who was attacked while walking her dog.
Bullis served in multiple roles at the DHS Office of Inspector General, including as an auditor in the Office of Audits and as a team leader in the Office of Innovation, according to the department.
“Lauren was a bright spot for so many of the DHS community. She brought warmth, kindness, and a genuine sense of care to her colleagues each day,” DHS said in a statement. “This horrific incident is a devastating loss for the entire DHS community.”
The suspect, identified by police as 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel of Atlanta, was taken into custody without incident after authorities carried out a felony traffic stop. He has been charged in connection with the three incidents.
Secretary Mullin said the suspect was born in the United Kingdom and naturalized in 2022. He has a prior criminal record that includes convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism.
Police have not announced a motive. Brookhaven police said the pattern of the attacks suggested more attacks could have followed if the suspect had not been stopped.
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