Federal charges for man accused of threatening to shoot at Atlanta airport

A man accused of going to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after threatening to shoot him now faces multiple federal charges, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Billy Joe Cagle, 49, was detained at an airport terminal on Monday after a family member reported the alleged threat to police, authorities said. According to the Department of Justice, an AR-15-style firearm was located in his van, which was parked in a crosswalk in front of the terminal.

Cagle has now been charged in a criminal complaint with attempted violence at an international airport, interstate communications containing threats to injure the person of another and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Cagle allegedly threatened to “shoot up the airport” in a FaceTime call, prosecutors said.

“In the driving call, Cagle allegedly said, ‘I’m at the airport and I’m going rat-a-tat-tat,’ after which he abruptly ended the call,” the Justice Department said in a news release.

The person on the call drove to the Cartersville Police Department to report the alleged threat, and officers alerted the Atlanta Police Department while providing images of Cagle and a description of his vehicle, the DOJ said.

After arriving at the airport at 9:29 a.m. Monday, officers found him in the terminal at 9:54 a.m. and detained him unarmed, Atlanta police said.

“As alleged in this complaint, Cagle senselessly threatened to inflict egregious violence on innocent travelers, at the world’s busiest airport, with a high-powered weapon that he had no legal right to possess,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in a statement. “Thanks to the vigilance of other citizens and the quick action of law enforcement, a horrible tragedy was avoided.”

Cagle also faces state charges, including terroristic threats and firearms charges, Atlanta police said.

He remains in custody and is scheduled to make his first appearance on the state charges Wednesday in Clayton County. Online court records did not include any information about his attorney.

Atlanta police said federal authorities are investigating how Cagle obtained a firearm. In addition to the gun, 27 rounds of ammunition were found in his vehicle, police said.

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said he believes Cagle was “scouting” the TSA screening area and walking back to his van with the intention of retrieving the gun when officers, who had been scouring the area for the suspect, found him in the terminal.

“The tragedies we have seen across our nation did not happen here yesterday,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said during a news conference Tuesday.

Schierbaum said the incident serves as an example of how the system works, where “we ask Americans, if you see something, say something, and we ask your police officers to put themselves in harm’s way for each of us every day.”

He added: “Yesterday happened exactly how we would like it to happen.”

Cartersville Police Capt. Greg Sparacio told reporters Monday that the department is “familiar” with Cagle and that he has a criminal history, including a previous arrest for drug possession, although he did not go into further detail.

Authorities said Cagle also has a history of mental health problems.