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Cartersville police are crediting teamwork and fast-moving communication for stopping a planned shooting at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Atlanta police found 49-year-old Billy Cagle at the airport within about 20 minutes and took him into federal custody.
Cagle’s family walked into the Cartersville Police Department on Monday to report what he was saying during a FaceTime call. “The family came in they were concerned,” Capt. Greg Sparacio said.
“He was at the airport. He was facetiming them. He made the comment he was going to go inside and shoot it up, and he was going to be on the news,” Sparacio said.
A federal criminal complaint says that during the call Cagle allegedly stated, “I’m at the airport, and I’m gonna go rat-a-tat-tat,” before abruptly ending the call.
Officers immediately issued BOLO alerts with Cagle’s photo and truck description and began contacting nearby agencies, including Atlanta police working at the airport. “They were on the phones with multiple dispatch centers trying to get lookouts put out, trying to get the word to Atlanta PD at the airport,” Sparacio said.
Within 20 minutes, airport police located and arrested Cagle. Body-camera video captured officers ordering, “Put your hands behind your back, sir. Put your hands behind your back.”
Cagle’s truck was located in the airport drop-off area. Investigators say they found an AR-15 rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition inside.
“You can’t ever plan for something like this,” Sparacio said. “You hope that the officers you have, the field training they took, the continued education, that they’re able to decipher information, decipher situations and get it out, make the best course of action. I think that’s what happened here.” He added that being able to “put a stop to this before it started was just incredible all around great team effort.”
Cagle is facing three federal charges: attempted violence at an international airport, interstate communications containing threats, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
