>>Mom of Atlanta Hospital Shooting Suspect Blames ‘Messed Up Medication’

Atlanta police were hunting for an armed suspect Wednesday who allegedly opened fire in a hospital waiting room, killing one woman and leaving five other women fighting for their lives.

Police identified the suspect as Deion Patterson, a 24-year-old who had “minimal” prior run-ins with police. “DO NOT approach him,” the PD said in a tweet. “He is considered Armed and Dangerous.”

A source told CNN that Patterson had accompanied his mother to Northside Hospital Medical on Wednesday morning and became “enraged” while there. The mother is now assisting police, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said in a press conference.

Reached by phone shortly after Patterson’s name was released by the Atlanta PD, the mom, Minyone Patterson, told The Daily Beast, “The damn VA gave him some messed up medication. And all he wanted was an Ativan.”

She hung up without elaborating further.

The shooting unfolded around 12:08 p.m. at a general outpatient facility on the 11th floor of Northside Hospital, Schierbaum said. All five victims were women, he said, but it was too early to say what Patterson’s motive was or “why these individuals were chosen.”

A 39-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Four other women—aged 71, 56, 39, and 25—were “fighting for their lives,” Mayor Andre Dickens said. Three were in critical condition and the fourth’s condition was unclear.

Police quickly shared four surveillance images of the fugitive suspect, showing him wearing a gray hoodie, a bag, and gloves, and holding up what appears to be a handgun as he stands in a doorway.

Shortly after the shooting, Atlanta police dispatchers directed officers to an address in the area, where someone in a neighboring building posted a video of a man in a gray hoodie lurking atop the roof. However police later clarified that it was not the suspect.

Schierbaum said Patterson carjacked a vehicle nearby and fled the area but dumped the car soon after. FOX5 reported that the white Toyota Tacoma was recovered about 12 miles away in the city of Smyrna, and Patterson had since fled on foot in the vicinity of Campbell Middle School.

Ahmed Ali, who works in Northside’s radiation oncology department, told FOX5 that a colleague noticed a pool of blood in an elevator car when it came down from the 11th floor outpatient facility, prompting Ali to call a “code silver.”

As they fled the building, another colleague noticed someone had tried to break into his car. The window was smashed and the hazard lights were on, Ali said, leading them to believe the suspect may have been trying to make a hasty getaway.