A 19-year-old package handler, who was armed ‘like Rambo,’ opened fire on his co-workers at a FedEx facility in Kennesaw early this morning, injuring six people, before killing himself.
The gunman has been identified as Geddy Kramer. Cobb County police say the man walked into the FedEx warehouse on Airport Road and opened fire. Six men and women between the ages of 19 and 52 were taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where one of them remains in critical condition.
Kramer is reportedly a 2013 graduate of North Cobb High School.
The story as it unfolded:
6:49 p.m.: Scott Kramer, the father of the suspect in the case, released a statement to the media, saying his family is "shocked and devastated" by his son's actions.
6:25 p.m.: This was the status of all of the victims of today's FedEx shooting, according to Cobb police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce:
- A 28-year-old male, critical
- A 52-year-old female, stable
- A 42-year-old female, treated and released
- A 19-year-old male, stable
- A 22-year-old male, stable
- A 38-year-old male, treated and released
5 p.m.: The shooter has been identified as package handler Geddy Kramer, 19.
4:54 p.m.: Law enforcement has finished their investigation and turned the facility back over to FedEx.
4:29 p.m. Authorities were sweeping the FedEx facility after an unknown number of Molotov cocktails were found there, apparently left by the gunman.
4:20 p.m. Gov. Nathan Deal calls shootings a tragedy.
3:36 p.m.: Gunman had explosive devices but they weren't used, police told the AJC.
3:20 p.m.: As of 3 p.m., this was the status of all of the victims of today's FedEx shooting, according to Marietta police spokesman Officer David Baldwin:
- 28-year-old man, critical
- 52-year-old woman, critical, but stable
- 42-year-old woman, treated and released
- 19-year-old man, stable and admitted
- 22-year-old man, stable and admitted
- 38-year-old man, treated and released
12:42 p.m.: A truck arrived on the scene to tow a dented Honda Civic, which had broken windows and other damage. The vehicle had been cordoned off about 30 to 40 feet from the guard house. The guard house sits about 30 to 40 yards in front of the FedEx facility, which is about three football fields long. The guard house appears to have a pass-through entrance that employees must negotiate before coming onto the property.
12:40 p.m.: Police let FedEx employees on the scene of this morning's workplace shooting so they could retrieve their vehicles.
11:41 a.m.: There is still "quite a bit of work to do" with the two people in surgery, Dr. Michael Nitzken with WellStar Kennestone Hospital said. One of the critical patients required "advanced life support."
When the hospital was notified of the shooting, “we were in the middle of a shift change,” which “proved to be to our benefit because we had double staff.
“As a level 2 trauma center, WellStar Kennestone is well-prepared for this. Patients I was responsible for were conscious.”
The 28-year-old man is on a ventilator. Four of the six patients will require hospitalization. The critical patients were likely shot at “close range.
“We have protocols to manage multiple victims,” he said. “Fortunately, we don’t see this many from a shooting. Because of our training, we were well-prepared.”
11:34 a.m.: Just before 7 a.m., WellStar Kennestone Hospital received six patients: a 28-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman currently in critical condition and in surgery; a 22-year-old man in critical condition; a 38-year-old man in stable condition; a 42-year-old woman who has been treated and released; and a 19-year-old man who has been treated with release currently pending, Nitzken said. Two of the patients have injuries that are considered life-threatening, he said.
11:14 a.m.: One man and one woman are in critical condition, Cobb police told the AJC. The suspect died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound, authorities said.
10:42 a.m.: Two patients are in critical condition, Cobb police told the AJC.
10:23 a.m.: At 11:30 a.m., officials will hold a press conference at a media staging area on Tower Road. An ER doctor at WellStar Kennestone Hospital will attend the press conference and give status reports on all of the victims involved in today's incident, Marietta police spokesman Officer David Baldwin said. "We will also release some very basic info about the victims (i.e. age and gender)," he said.
10:09 a.m.: Police escorted a bus filled with FedEx employees from the shipping plant to Sparkles skating rink, where they were taken after being questioned to meet with families and loved ones and to arrange rides home.
9:55 a.m.: FedEx employee Liza Aiken saw the shooter, a 19-year-old man she said was a loader, just before she heard gunfire. Aiken was doing address corrections on some packages when she said she "heard a clink.
“I looked to my left. I saw him standing there and the knife was on the ground. He dropped his knife. He had an assault rifle. He had bullets strapped to his chest like Rambo. I mean he looked like he was heading into war. As soon as I saw him, I ran the other way. I ran and made sure that people upstairs were gone. He was in all black. I think he had a camo vest. He had an assault rifle and bullets strapped to his chest.”
Aiken said she previously reported the shooting suspect to her superiors. She said he pointed a work laser in her eye.
9:50 a.m.: FedEx employee Randy Kitfield said: "I looked down hallway and I see somebody run with a gun on the other side of the terminal. I thought, maybe it's the cops; I thought maybe a bomb scare or something."
9:25 a.m.: "We can confirm that an incident occurred early Tuesday morning at a FedEx Ground facility in Kennesaw, Georgia," company spokesman Scott Fiedler said in a statement to the AJC. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected, and with their families and friends. We are grateful for the assistance of law enforcement. The situation is now stabilized and we are focused on the needs of our team members and cooperating with the law enforcement investigation of this tragedy."
9:03 a.m.: "We are not looking for anybody else at this point,"Cobb police spokesman Dana Pierce said.
8:55 a.m.: "We have one individual that is deceased that we are describing as the suspect," Pierce said. "He is probably deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was located in the bay area of FedEx. We are completing the ground floor sweep at this point … with the assistance of K-9."
8:48 a.m.: The suspect is dead.
8:31 a.m.: Sparkles Family Fun Centers, 1000 McCollum Pkwy., has been designated as the location for families to check on relatives of FedEx employees who were at the scene of the workplace shooting.
8:23 a.m.: "Right now, we're still securing the scene at the FedEx location," Pierce told the AJC. "We're going to enlarge that perimeter to another 1,200 feet. That's so that we can actually check in and around that area for any kind of secondary devices. That's very standard in these kinds of situations.
“We’re trying to lockdown that immediate area of the FedEx location, trying to look at all the trailers, all the trucks. It’s going to take a lot of time to be able secure it. We’re not confirming anything at this point as far as any kind of device.”
8:14 a.m.: About 5:54 a.m. today, Cobb police received a call about an active shooter at the FedEx facility at 1675 Airport Road in Kennesaw, Officer Mike Bowman told the AJC.
“We have multiple victims at this time that have been transported to a local area hospital,” he said in a statement. “We have multiple agencies assisting us with this incident. The area around the building has been secured and the officers are now clearing the incident location. This is still an active and fluid situation.” It is not clear if a suspect is in custody.
7:55 a.m.: Michael Hogeland, a ground driver at the FedEx facility, said: "(My boss) called me about 6 o'clock this morning saying there was a guy inside. Shot a security guard. He had a gun pointed at (my boss) and said, 'Don't worry about getting here on time.' "
7:45 a.m.: Hundreds of police are on the scene of a shooting at the FedEx facility in Kennesaw. It's an active scene, police tell the AJC's John Spink.
7:28 a.m.: Six patients have been taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital and more are coming, according to Channel 2 Action News.
First report of shooting
Authorities are on the scene of a shooting at the FedEx facility in Kennesaw.
“FedEx is aware of the situation,” company spokesman Scott Fiedler said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Our primary concern is the safety and well being of our team members, first responders and others affected. FedEx is cooperating with authorities.”
Cobb fire Lt. Dan Dupree deferred all questions to the Cobb County Police Department, which was not immediately available for comment.
“We are assisting police at the FedEx complex on an incident,” he told the AJC.
The AJC has photographers and reporters at FedEx and WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
— Staff writers Rodney Thrash, Kelly Yamanouchi, Fran Jeffries and Angel K. Brooks contributed to this report.
About the Author
