Homeland Security worker and another woman are killed in a series of
Atlanta-area attacks
[April 16, 2026]
By SARAH BRUMFIELD, R.J. RICO and JULIE WATSON
ATLANTA (AP) — A man has been charged in a string of attacks near
Atlanta that left two women dead and a man in critical condition,
drawing the Trump administration’s attention after one victim was
identified as a Department of Homeland Security employee who was walking
her dog.
The killing of the DHS worker, Lauren Bullis, and shootings of the two
other victims on Monday led Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin to issue
a statement raising concerns that the 26-year-old defendant, U.K.-native
Olaolukitan Adon Abel, was granted U.S. citizenship in 2022, when
Democrat Joe Biden was president.
“These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department and my prayers
are with the families of the victims,” Mullin wrote in a statement
posted on social media, cataloging a litany of the defendant's previous
alleged crimes but not specifying whether they happened before he was
granted citizenship.
Court records show that Olaolukitan Adon Abel, whose name appears in
different variations in court and government records, pleaded guilty in
California in October 2024 to assaulting two police officers with a
deadly weapon and attacking another person when he was stationed at
Naval Base Coronado.
Authorities have said they believe at least one victim in this week's
shootings was targeted at random, and possibly more.
A morning of violence
The first victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds near a
restaurant in the Decatur area at around 1 a.m. Monday. She was taken to
a hospital but died, DeKalb County Police Chief Gregory Padrick said at
a news conference. Police have not publicly identified her.
About an hour later in Brookhaven, an Atlanta suburb about 12 miles (19
kilometers) northwest of the first attack, a 49-year-old homeless man
sleeping outside of a grocery store was shot multiple times, Brookhaven
Police Chief Brandon Gurley said. The man, whose name hasn't been
released, remains hospitalized in critical condition.
“It is apparent to us that it was a completely random attack on a member
of our unhoused community,” Gurley said.
Just before 7 a.m. and more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in the
suburb of Panthersville, officers responding to a call found Bullis with
gunshot and stab wounds, Padrick said. She died at the scene.
Investigators in Brookhaven determined that the three attacks were
connected, Gurley said.
Adon Abel was taken into custody later Monday during a traffic stop in
Troup County, which borders Alabama. He is charged with two counts of
malice murder, aggravated assault and firearms counts, court records
show. He waived an initial court appearance Tuesday, and a public
defender listed as his attorney did not immediately respond to an email
seeking comment.
Toyin Adon Abel Jr., the defendant's brother, said he did not want to
talk about his brother when reached by phone but expressed sympathy for
the victims. “I feel terrible for the victims, their families and their
connections,” he said. “It’s a horrible thing.”
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This 2025 photo provided by Sunisa Kim Kipe shows Lauren Bullis at
the Green Meadows Preserve in Cobb County, Ga. (Sunisa Kim Kipe via
AP)
Remembered for her warmth and compassion
Bullis served in multiple roles at DHS Office of Inspector General,
including as an auditor in the Office of Audits and as a Team Leader
in the Office of Innovation, DHS posted on social media, saying she
brought “warmth, kindness, and a genuine sense of care to her
colleagues each day.”
Relatives said in a statement, that she loved her family, running,
reading and traveling, and “her warmth and generosity touched
everyone surrounding her.”
Fellow DHS auditor Ashley Toillion of Denver said she met Bullis at
a work conference last year. The two became fast friends as they
bonded over running and quickly made plans to do a race at Walt
Disney World.
“You couldn’t meet her and not be her friend,” Toillion said,
choking back tears. “She was just the nicest, sweetest, most
encouraging person I’ve ever met.”
Naval service and criminal case in California
Military records show the defendant enlisted in the Navy in 2020,
last serving in the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron in Coronado,
California, and as a petty officer received a Navy “E” Ribbon for
superior performance for battle readiness.
But in 2024 he was arrested and charged with assaulting two Coronado
police officers and attacking another person. He pleaded guilty,
court records show, and he was kicked out of the Navy in September
of that year.
Mullin says suspect had criminal record
Mullin said Adon Abel has a criminal record that includes a sexual
battery conviction.
Online court records show that someone listed with a similar name
and the same birth date pleaded guilty last June in Chatham County,
Georgia, to four misdemeanor counts of sexual battery.
Mullin also noted that since President Donald Trump took office,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which DHS oversees, has
worked to ensure that people with criminal histories don’t attain
citizenship. But the U.S. has long barred people convicted of most
violent felonies from becoming citizens, and it wasn't immediately
clear if Adon Abel had a criminal record that predated him becoming
a citizen in 2022.
In response to a request for further details about the case and the
defendant's criminal history, DHS referred The Associated Press to
its post about Bullis and her death.
___
Brumfield reported from Cockeysville, Maryland, and Watson from San
Diego. Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and
John Hanna, in Topeka, Kansas, contributed.
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