Police said the attacks unfolded over several hours in Brookhaven and unincorporated DeKalb County, and investigators are still trying to determine a motive.
DECATUR, GA — A 26-year-old Atlanta man was arrested Monday after authorities said he carried out three shootings in Brookhaven and DeKalb County over the course of several hours, killing two women and critically wounding a 49-year-old man in what police described as an apparently random spree.
Investigators said the shootings began shortly before 1 a.m. outside a Checkers on Wesley Chapel Road, continued about an hour later outside a Kroger at Cherokee Plaza in Brookhaven, and ended around sunrise in a neighborhood off Battle Forest Drive. The suspect, identified by police as Olaolukitan Adon Abel, was taken into custody later Monday in Troup County after officers tracked a silver Volkswagen Jetta. By Monday night, authorities said he was facing two counts of malice murder in DeKalb County as well as aggravated assault and a firearm charge in Brookhaven.
Police said the first shooting happened just after 12:52 a.m. outside the Checkers on Wesley Chapel Road in unincorporated DeKalb County. Officers found a woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and rushed her to a hospital, where she later died. Authorities had not publicly released her name by late Monday. Investigators have not said whether she had any contact with the gunman before the shooting or whether she was targeted for a reason connected to her work, residence or daily routine. What police have said is that the case was one of two homicide investigations DeKalb officers were already working when Brookhaven police announced an arrest in the second shooting. DeKalb County Police Chief Greg Padrick said at a joint briefing that it had been a tragic day for the county and that detectives were able to connect the incidents as the evidence came together.
The second attack happened outside the Kroger in Cherokee Plaza on Peachtree Road in Brookhaven. Police said the victim, a 49-year-old man believed to be part of the unhoused community, had been sleeping outside the shopping center when the suspect pulled up in a vehicle and fired several shots. Officers responded after a 911 call and found the man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where police said he remained in critical condition Monday evening. Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said investigators do not believe the victim knew the suspect. Gurley called the shooting random and said officers were hopeful the man would survive. In one of the few direct descriptions police offered about the case, Gurley said the department’s thoughts were with the victim and his family as he fought to recover. The shopping center had already drawn attention in recent weeks because another shooting had happened at the same Kroger location in late March, though police did not publicly connect that earlier case to Monday’s violence.
The third and final attack unfolded around 6:50 a.m. in a neighborhood near Battle Forest Drive and Manassas Lane, where DeKalb officers responded to a report of a person shot. There, police found 40-year-old Lauren Bullis with gunshot and stab wounds. She died at the scene or shortly after officers arrived, according to local reports and police statements. Neighbors told television crews that Bullis was known in the area for walking her dog most mornings, and one neighbor said residents heard several gunshots between about 6:30 and 7 a.m. Another described seeing a man near Bullis before he ran from the area. Earlier in the day, before the shootings were linked publicly, DeKalb officers searched the neighborhood with a K-9 unit but did not immediately find a suspect. By late afternoon, police said evidence from all three crime scenes had pointed them to the same man. Detectives have not said whether Bullis was attacked while walking or how long she was on the street before neighbors noticed something was wrong.
The arrest came hours later in west Georgia. Police said investigators used Flock license plate reader cameras to track a silver Volkswagen Jetta tied to the shootings. The Georgia Department of Public Safety then carried out a felony traffic stop in Troup County and took Abel into custody without further incident. That swift arrest helped police move from three separate emergency responses to what became a multi-agency investigation spanning at least Brookhaven, unincorporated DeKalb County and Troup County. On Monday, Brookhaven police announced that Abel had been charged in their case with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. DeKalb County jail records, cited by local outlets, showed two counts of malice murder tied to the deaths in the county. Authorities have not publicly laid out whether additional charges, including felony murder or weapons counts in the DeKalb killings, are still under review. They also have not said whether Abel has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.
What remains unsettled is why the shootings happened at all. Police repeatedly said the attacks appeared to be random, but they stopped short of declaring that no prior connection existed in the two homicide cases. Brookhaven police said they saw no relationship between the suspect and the wounded man outside the Kroger. DeKalb County police said Monday that they were still investigating whether the suspect had any ties to either of the women who were killed. That distinction matters because random public violence often creates a wider fear than a targeted dispute, and it can also shape how detectives build a case around motive, intent and planning. For now, investigators have released no statement describing a grievance, a personal conflict, a robbery attempt or a known mental health crisis connected to the shootings. They also have not publicly described the weapon or weapons involved, whether any surveillance video captured the attacks, or what evidence besides vehicle tracking helped connect the cases. The absence of those details left neighbors and shoppers with a picture of sudden violence but few answers about what drove it.
The places hit in the shootings also added to the shock. The first scene was a fast-food restaurant parking lot on Wesley Chapel Road. The second was outside a busy grocery store in Brookhaven, where residents said they expect overnight foot traffic even in the early hours. The third was in a residential neighborhood where neighbors said Bullis was a familiar presence. That spread of locations gave the day the feel of a moving crime scene rather than one isolated attack. It also forced several agencies to manage separate witness interviews, crime scene processing and public messaging before they knew the incidents were linked. By the time chiefs from Brookhaven and DeKalb stood together Monday, the narrative had changed from a series of scattered overnight calls to what officials said was one man’s violent path across the county. Padrick said detectives investigating the two DeKalb homicides had been able to put those cases together, while Brookhaven officers worked the grocery store shooting that first drew wider public attention because the wounded man was found outside a prominent retail site.
The case now moves into its procedural phase. Abel was arrested Monday and booked after the Troup County stop, and officials said he remains in custody. Brookhaven has already filed its charges, and DeKalb authorities have tied him to the two homicides through malice murder counts. Prosecutors will now decide whether to seek additional charges as detectives finish interviews, gather forensic results and review video and digital records. Investigators are also expected to work through autopsy findings, ballistic testing and any search warrants tied to the suspect’s car, phone or home. Police did not announce a court date Monday night, but the next milestone is likely an initial appearance in which the charges are formally presented. In Georgia, murder and related felony cases often expand as evidence is processed, so the charge sheet released on the first day is not always the final one. Authorities have said only that the investigation remains active and that they are continuing to work with state partners to fully document what happened between the first shooting just before 1 a.m. and the arrest later that day.
For residents, the most immediate reality was grief mixed with disbelief. Neighbors remembered Bullis as kind and recognizable from her routine walks with her dog. In Brookhaven, nearby residents and shoppers were confronted with another shooting at the same Kroger center less than a month after a different gun case there. The man wounded outside the store remained alive Monday, giving that part of the story a measure of uncertainty that the homicide cases no longer carry. Police have identified one of the dead women and left the other unnamed, a reminder that even after a suspect is in custody, families are still moving through the slower process of notification, confirmation and mourning. Officials offered brief comments rather than long narratives, and their caution reflected how early the investigation still is. Even with an arrest, many of the most important questions — especially motive and any hidden links between the suspect and the victims — had not been answered by the end of the day.
The case stood Monday night as a three-scene investigation with one suspect in custody, two women dead and one man still hospitalized in critical condition. The next expected developments are formal court proceedings, possible additional charges and more detail from investigators as they continue to piece together the hours between the first shooting and the Troup County arrest.
Author note: Last updated April 14, 2026.