Man charged in Atlanta-area attacks that killed two women, wounded man

The Atlanta-area killings moved from a local homicide investigation to a Washington fight over citizenship and public safety after police said a 26-year-old man shot three people across DeKalb County and Brookhaven, killing two women and critically wounding a man.

Authorities identified the suspect as Olaolukitan Adon Abel, who was arrested in Troup County after investigators tracked a silver Volkswagen Jetta with Flock license-plate readers and stopped it in a felony traffic stop. Police have charged him with two counts of malice murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon or first offender probationer.

Investigators believe the attacks may have been random, but they have not established a motive. The violence began just before 1 a.m. outside a Checkers on Wesley Chapel Road in DeKalb County, where a woman was found with gunshot wounds. About an hour later, police said a man described as unhoused was shot while sleeping outside Cherokee Plaza in Brookhaven and remained in critical condition. Around 6:50 to 7 a.m., Lauren Bullis was attacked on Battle Forrest Drive in Panthersville. She was found with gunshot and stab wounds and died at the scene.

Bullis, identified in additional reporting as 40 years old, was walking her dog when she was attacked. Her death quickly became the center of the public narrative because the Department of Homeland Security later identified her as one of its employees. The department’s April 15 release accused the Biden administration of naturalizing Abel in 2022, a move that immediately recast the case as a referendum on immigration screening and federal hiring safety.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called the killings “acts of pure evil” and pointed to Abel’s citizenship status under President Joe Biden. That framing has pushed the case far beyond the usual rhythm of an Atlanta-area violent-crime investigation, where local detectives often spend days or weeks trying to establish whether the victims were targeted or random. Here, the federal connection brought rapid public statements, heightened political scrutiny, and a broader debate over how much a single victim’s government job can accelerate a case into the national spotlight.

Court records reported by local outlets also show a troubling criminal history. Abel pleaded guilty in October 2024 in San Diego County to felony assault with a deadly weapon against police officers and other offenses tied to Naval Base Coronado. Additional reporting says he also pleaded guilty in Savannah to four misdemeanor sexual battery counts after women reported being groped the same afternoon.

For DeKalb County and Brookhaven, the investigation still turns on the same unanswered question: why three people were attacked within hours, and whether any of them were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.