NEW: Mass Shooting Plot At Major Airport Thwarted By Law Enforcement

A man who is said to have “mental challenges” was arrested by police in Atlanta after attempting to carry out a plot to open fire on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning, local authorities revealed.

The suspect, 49-year-old Billy Cagle of Cartersville, Georgia, arrived at the airport a little after 9 a.m. after Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said he went live on social media and revealed his plans to go to the airport and “shoot it up.”

Cagle’s family heard about the threats Billy made and immediately contacted the Cartersville Police, who had previous run-ins with the suspect, a convicted felon.

After receiving word of Cagle’s plot, the Cartersville Police reached out to the Atlanta Police, who in turn notified airport security, which then began searching for him. Cagle’s family told law enforcement officials that he was driving a Chevrolet flatbed pickup truck, which was located just outside the airport at the S1 doors at the South Terminal.

According to Chief Schierbaum, Cagle entered the airport at 9:31 a.m. after arriving just a few minutes prior and was scoping out the South Terminal, which houses Delta Air Lines passengers.

The suspect was taken into custody inside the South Terminal at 9:54 a.m. Cagle is now facing charges of 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 convicted felon.

Atlanta Police searched the suspect’s vehicle and discovered an AR-15 assault rifle along with 27 rounds of ammunition. Schierbaum believes the man was probing the terminal before heading back to his vehicle to retrieve the weapon and commit an act of mass murder.

Cagle’s family told local authorities that he was headed somewhere in Atlanta with the “intention to inflict harm on as many people as he could.” Police praised the family for “seeing something and saying something” which proved critical in preventing a horrific act of violence, referring to the incident as a “tragedy averted.”

“Today is how it should work,” Schierbaum went on to say. “Community, law enforcement, dedicated men and women wearing the uniform and trained to respond when their community needs them.”

“Atlanta Police shared officers’ bodycam footage of Cagle’s arrival and arrest inside the South Terminal on Monday. In the video, you can see him walking through the airport terminal after parking just outside the covered terminal drive-through area,” 11 Alive News reported.

Police spotted Cagle in the crowded South Terminal wearing a blue polo shirt. They confronted him and asked him why he was there. He replied, “I’m just here, why?” After additional questioning, police took Cagle to the ground and placed him under arrest.

As he was being arrested, Cagle began to scream inside the terminal. Schierbaum then said the suspect was examined by EMS and did not sustain any injuries during the arrest.

The FBI has opened an investigation into the matter.

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