ATLANTA, GA – Authorities arrested a 49-year-old Georgia man at the world’s busiest airport Monday morning, preventing what officials say could have been a mass shooting that endangered dozens of lives.
Billy Cagle was taken into custody at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 9:54 a.m., just 11 minutes after his family alerted police that he was headed to the airport “to shoot it up” while livestreaming his intentions on social media.
Officers found an AR-15 assault rifle loaded with 27 rounds of ammunition in Cagle’s parked Chevrolet flatbed outside the airport’s south terminal. He was unarmed when apprehended inside the terminal.
“There were 27 rounds that could have been fired from this weapon inside the airport,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference. “We are standing here talking about a tragedy averted.”
Cagle’s family in Cartersville, northwest of Atlanta, contacted authorities after seeing him livestream his plans on social media. They reported he possessed an assault rifle and was traveling to the airport with violent intentions.
Security footage showed Cagle entering the busy south terminal at 9:29 a.m., appearing “very interested” in the TSA check-in area, according to investigators. Officers located and detained him before he reached the terminal’s main concourses.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens praised the quick response. “We are standing here talking about a tragedy averted, versus us standing here telling you about 27-plus lives that were lost or injured,” he said.
Cagle faces charges including making terroristic threats, criminal attempt to commit aggravated assault, and firearms violations. Officials noted he has “mental challenges” but declined to provide further details about his condition.
A Facebook post from Sunday showed Cagle writing about potential legal claims, though authorities have not disclosed whether the post was connected to Monday’s incident.
The arrest comes amid heightened security concerns at airports nationwide. Hartsfield-Jackson serves more than 100 million passengers annually and is consistently ranked as the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic.
