Man who planned to shoot up Atlanta's airport is arrested in a terminal
following a tip, police say
[October 21, 2025]
By JEFF MARTIN and KATE BRUMBACK
ATLANTA (AP) — Police arrested a man at Atlanta's bustling airport on
Monday after getting a tip from his family that he was planning to shoot
up the place, and found an assault rifle and ammunition in his truck
outside, the city's police chief said.
Billy Joe Cagle, of Cartersville, Georgia, had described his plan to
shoot up the world's busiest airport on a social media livestream, Chief
Darin Schierbaum said during a news conference.
“The Cartersville Police Department was alerted by the family of Mr.
Cagle that he was streaming on social media that he was headed to the
Atlanta airport, in their words, to ‘shoot it up,’ and the family stated
that he was in possession of an assault rifle,” Schierbaum said,
describing Cagle as a “convicted felon.”
Cagle, 49, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
in a Chevrolet pickup truck that was parked right outside the doors to
the airport terminal. When police went to the vehicle, they found an
AR-15 with 27 rounds of ammunition, Schierbaum said.
“We’re here today briefing you on a success and not a tragedy because a
family saw something and said something,” the chief said.
Cartersville police Capt. Greg Sparacio, whose department received the
initial tip from family members, said Cagle “had the intention to
inflict harm to as many people as he could.”
During the news conference, police showed surveillance video that shows
Cagle arriving at the airport and body-camera video of his arrest.
A Chevrolet flatbed pickup truck is seen arriving curbside at the
airport terminal around 9:30 a.m. and then a man police identified as
Cagle is seen entering the airport a few minutes later. He walks over to
the TSA security checkpoint and had “high interest in that area,”
Schierbaum said.
Body-camera footage shows Atlanta police officers, who had a photo of
Cagle provided by his family on their phones, approach him and start
asking him questions before taking him into custody. As they take him to
the ground and put handcuffs on him, Cagle can be heard yelling.
Cagle has been charged with making terroristic threats, criminal attempt
to commit aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the
commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon,
Schierbaum said.
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This image made from an Oct. 20, 2025, police body camera footage
shows Billy Joe Cagle, of Cartersville, Ga., right, talks to police
officers before he was arrested inside the domestic terminal at
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta.
(Atlanta Police Department via AP)
Cagle was booked into the Clayton County Detention Facility on Monday
evening, according to online jail records. Attempts to reach his family
and co-workers through multiple phone numbers and emails were
unsuccessful. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who
could comment on the charges.
Nick Roberts, who has known Cagle since high school, texted his friend
Sunday night after being concerned by Facebook posts he had made. He
said Cagle was struggling with mental health issues. Cagle had posted on
Facebook earlier Sunday that he is schizophrenic and was taking
medication.
Roberts said Cagle called him at about 9 p.m. Sunday night and assured
him he was OK. Roberts said Cagle loved his two daughters and worked
hard hauling hay and doing fencing work.
“I want folks to know that he wasn’t some monster," Roberts said. “This
was a very big surprise for a lot of us that went to high school with
him and know him in the community.”
Atlanta police will work with federal authorities to determine how he
obtained the gun, “which he was not able to legally possess,” Schierbaum
said.
Mayor Andre Dickens said “we’re thankful to God” that a tragedy was
averted.
“We’re thankful to God and to good information, and good intel, and good
people for this crisis being averted,” the mayor said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on the social
platform X, “I am thankful this individual was taken into custody by law
enforcement before harming anyone.”
___
Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this
report.
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