The four women who survived a shooting in a Midtown Atlanta medical office this week are improving, though two remain in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Jansen said Friday.
“We’re very pleased with their progress,” he said outside the hospital.
But while their physical wounds heal, Jansen said the victims must also deal with the emotional trauma they are experiencing following such a horrifying ordeal. Deion Patterson, 24, is accused of shooting five women with a semi-automatic handgun inside the Northside Medical Midtown office building Wednesday. Amy St. Pierre, 38, died at the scene, according to police.
“The post-traumatic stress is real and it’s going to impact all of them and we know that,” Jansen said. “Every one of them knows what happened. They know it and their families know it.”
Two of the four surviving victims remain in the intensive care unit, one was being moved out of the ICU, and the fourth was being released Friday, Jansen said. All four women are now able to speak, he said.
“This is great news,” he said. “When you have this type of trauma, it doesn’t always go this well.”
Hospital officials have not released the victims’ names, but arrest warrants identified those injured as Lisa Glynn, Georgette Whitlow, Jazzmin Daniel and Alesha Hollinger. They range in age from 25 to 71.
According to police, Glynn was shot in the abdomen, Whitlow was shot in the arm, Daniel was hit multiple times in the abdomen area and Hollinger was shot in the face.
From his daughter’s bedside, Quentin Daniel told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his daughter, Jazzmin, had worked in the office’s reception area for about six months. She was days away from transferring to another location, he said.
Her family members have been spending time at Grady, sharing their love for the mother of a 1-year-old boy: “They flooded the hospital last night,” Quentin Daniel said.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
After fleeing the office building and allegedly stealing a truck, Patterson was arrested Wednesday night in Cobb County after a massive manhunt. He was charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault and remained Friday in the Fulton County jail, where he was being held without bond.
Patterson waived his first court appearance Thursday and his next hearing has not been scheduled.
Jensen said Grady’s proximity to the shooting scene likely helped the four survivors. The trauma center was quickly notified of the shooting and was prepared when the ambulances arrived.
“By the time they arrived, we were ready,” he said. “As they rolled into the door, they were immediately taken care of. There was no delay at all.”
Meanwhile, funeral plans were pending for St. Pierre, a married mother of two. An Emory University honors graduate who obtained an MBA from Georgia State University, her family said she traveled the world “with curiosity and courage.”
In a statement, the family said, “Our beloved Amy was brilliant, kind, big-hearted and simply the ‘best of the best.’”
St. Pierre worked at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, in a previously scheduled visit there on Friday, the nation’s top diplomat offered his condolences.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called St. Pierre, “Someone who dedicated her career to working on maternal health issues and I know was a treasured member of this community.”
Credit: custom
Credit: custom
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