Suspect identified in deadly shooting at Atlanta office building
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July 29, 1999
Web posted at: 5:48 p.m. EDT (2148 GMT)
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Latest developments:
Authorities are reporting nine fatalities
The suspect has been identified as Mark Barton and has been described as a white male, 6 feet 4 inches, wearing glasses and blue or tan shorts, with a receding hairline and is reportedly armed with both a 9mm and a 45mm gun
CNN has confirmed at least 12 shooting victims: Two victims, a male and a female, are being treated at St. Joseph's Hospital, both are in critical condition, and seven victims have been taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta, three are in critical condition, four are being evaluated. In addition, three victims are in surgery at Northside Hospital
Police are now searching buildings seven and eight of Piedmont Center, an adjacent office complex for the suspect
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ATLANTA (CNN) -- An angry former customer of a stock day- trading firm returned to the office Thursday afternoon and methodically opened fire with two guns, killing at least nine people and injuring at least 12 others, the company's chairman told CNN.
Police have not confirmed any fatalities. CNN affiliate WSB-TV was reporting that as many as four people may have been killed, based on police radio traffic.
Three local hospitals had been alerted to prepare for possible victims. A spokesperson at Grady Memorial Hospital told CNN that seven victims had been brought there for treatment, three in critical condition and four in serious condition.
The shooting began about 3 p.m. on the third floor of a building called Two Security Center in Buckhead, an upscale commercial area in the northern part of the city. Dozens of police officers, including SWAT teams, are searching for a suspect in an adjacent office complex.
Harvey Houtkin, chairman and chief executive office of All- Tech Investment Group, speaking to CNN from the company's New Jersey headquarters, said the gunman, whom he described as a former customer, entered the Atlanta branch office and shot the office manager and secretary at point-blank range.
The gunman then began firing on anyone inside the office before moving outside, Houtkin said.
"He was shooting anyone just sitting there," said Houtkin, who has been in touch with the branch office. "My emotions are so crazy right now I don't know what to say ... For something like this to happen is just crazy."
Houtkin said a customer told him by phone that at least nine people were shot and at least five had died.
Other witnesses told WSB that the shooting took place at a leasing office on the third floor and that there was at least one fatality in the leasing office.
A suspect, described as a white male about 6 feet, 4 inches tall with a receding hairline and wearing glasses, may have fled from the building and crossed a busy street that runs past it, WSB-TV reported.
Workers at several office buildings in the area were evacuated, while others were advised to stay put and take precautions.
"We're up here all by ourselves," said Kay Whitten, who works for a CPA firm in the building. "We just locked the door. We've got ourselves in a lockdown."
Correspondent Daryn Kagan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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