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The suspect in a string of attacks in DeKalb County, Georgia, is a repeat offender and a naturalized U.S. citizen from the U.K., according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Olaolukitan Adon Abel, 26, was arrested on Monday after he killed two people and wounded another in what police described as a series of random attacks in the Peach State.
Abel faces two counts of murder, aggravated assault and weapons charges in connection with the attacks, which DHS said included the killing of an employee of the agency.
DHS told Fox News that Abel is a U.K. national who was naturalized into a US citizen in 2022 during the Biden administration.
AVID RUNNER STABBED AND SHOT IN STRING OF RANDOM ATTACKS ALLEGEDLY CARRIED OUT BY REPEAT OFFENDER
Olaolukitan Adon Abel, 26, faces two counts of murder, aggravated assault and weapons charges. (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office)
One of the victims, 40-year-old Lauren Bullis, worked in the DHS Office of the Inspector General, the agency confirmed to Fox News.
She was found dead after being shot and stabbed while walking her dog on Battle Forest Drive. Witnesses reported to DeKalb Police that they observed a man standing over her before he fled the scene.
“Yesterday, a DHS employee, Lauren Bullis, was brutally shot and stabbed to death by Olaolukitan Adon Abel, a 26-year-old, born in the United Kingdom, who was naturalized by the Biden Administration in 2022,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Tuesday in a statement to Fox News. “Since President Trump took office, USCIS has implemented measures to ensure individuals with criminal histories and who otherwise lack good moral character do not attain citizenship.”
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Lauren Bullis, 40, was one of the victims in an alleged spree of attacks in DeKalb County, Georgia. (Facebook/Lauren Bullis)
Before Bullis’ killing, police found a woman shot multiple times outside a Checkers on Wesley Chapel Road. She later died from her injuries.
Then in Brookhaven, a homeless man was ambushed and shot several times while sleeping outside a shopping center on Peachtree Road. He remains in critical condition.
Adel was later taken into custody in Troup County after law enforcement used license plate recognition cameras to track his silver Volkswagen Jetta, police said.
His previous criminal history reportedly includes an arrest last fall for sexual battery in Chatham County. He was sentenced to jail time and probation, which included a requirement for a mental health evaluation.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said a DHS employee was “brutally” shot and stabbed to death by Olaolukitan Adon Abel. (Manuel Balce CenetaAP Photo)
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“He possesses a prior criminal record that includes convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, and assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and now stands accused of murdering DHS employee Lauren Bullis by shooting and stabbing her while she walked her dog,” Mullin said in his statement. “He has also been arrested for the murder of an unidentified woman whom he reportedly shot outside a Checkers, before randomly shooting a homeless man multiple times outside a Kroger in Brookhaven.”
“These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department and my prayers are with the families of the victims,” the secretary added.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.