Midtown shooting suspect Deion Patterson once arrested in domestic disturbance

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Deion Patterson, the suspect in Wednesday’s midtown Atlanta mass shooting that left one person dead and four others injured, has a police record that includes a domestic disturbance involving his mother and sister six years ago.

On Jan. 26, 2017, Clayton County police responded to a call on Battlecreek Lane in Jonesboro after Patterson’s sister, Whitney Code, told them her brother “was being aggressive with their mother,” identified as Minyone Patterson.

“Code advised she overheard [Patterson] use profanity and disrespecting their mother, causing her not to feel safe” around Patterson, the police report said. The responding officer said Patterson believed his sister called police because she was simply angry with him.

Midtown shooting suspect’s mother apologies to victims, says son has mental illness

Patterson tried to flee the scene, but police apprehended him and placed him in handcuffs. Patterson was taken to the Clayton County jail after dispatchers informed the responding officer that Henry County had issued an active warrant on him.

According to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, Patterson was arrested for possession for marijuana (less than an ounce) in 2015, and arrested twice again in 2017 for probation violation.

Who is Deion Patterson, the man charged in Midtown Atlanta’s mass shooting?

On May 29, 2017, Patterson was arrested again in Clayton County for DUI, failure to maintain lane and hit and run. According to the police report, Patterson left the scene of an accident on Mount Zion Boulevard and was later apprehended his home. Patterson’s mother accompanied police with her son when they returned to accident scene, where Patterson failed a sobriety test.

In an exclusive interview with Atlanta News First, Minyone Patterson offered her apologies for Wednesday’s mass shooting:

“First and foremost, I want to give my sincere, sincere apology to the families that were injured and killed. My son was always a protector. No one that would hurt anybody. And even in his time of need he was still trying to help others. That’s just the person he’s always been. A happy, beautiful child. Always. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know right now. Please. This mental illness is real, and when we say it’s real, from the medical standpoint, it is real. And when someone is saying they need help, or you see that they are acting out of sorts, they need help. Help them, just don’t disregard them. They need help, and as I’m trying to advocate for my son he was turned away. Just be careful.”
Minyone Patterson

In an interview with the Associated Press, Minyone Patterson said her son, a former Coast Guardsman, had “some mental instability going on” from medication that he began taking Friday.

She said her son had wanted Ativan to deal with anxiety and depression but the Veterans Affairs health system would not give it to him because they said it would be “too addicting.” She said she is a nurse and said she told them he would only have taken the proper dosage.

“Those families, those families ... They’re hurting because they wouldn’t give my son his damn Ativan. Those families lost their loved ones because he had a mental break because they wouldn’t listen to me.” She did not disclose to the AP what medication her son had been taking.

Atlanta News First speaks with shooting suspect's mother

Atlanta News First Investigates has learned Patterson also once lived in Hanover, Maryland, near Baltimore-Washington International Airport. A court records search also show a 2020 traffic violation out out of St. Louis, Missouri.

Patterson also served in the U.S. Coast Guard in July 2018 as an Electrician’s Mate Second Class. He was discharged in January 2023.

FULL COVERAGE OF MIDTOWN ATLANTA MASS SHOOTING:

Don’t forget to download our Atlanta News First app for the most up-to-date information.

Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.