Atlanta police are searching for the perpetrator of two random attacks, including a fatal stabbing on the Beltline near the Ansley Golf Club that left a woman dead, authorities said Thursday.
Just prior to the stabbing, a postal worker was attacked with a rock at the nearby U.S. Post Office. Both incidents are connected, and the victims were random targets, Atlanta police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
“We have thousands of people on the Beltline every day, and very few incidents that occur,” Schierbaum said. “This is a shock. It’s an outlier. And we’re going to make sure that we arrest this individual.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
The incident was reported around noon. Police had closed roughly 60 yards of the Beltline behind Flagler Avenue, just south of I-85, with crime scene tape.
The stabbing victim was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she died, police said. Her identity was not released. The Postal Service worker had minor injuries and was treated.
Midtown High School and Howard Middle School were placed on a temporary lockdown. Atlanta Public Schools spokesperson Seth Coleman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that students were escorted to their school buses to head home, while students who walk or ride their bicycles home had to seek parental permission or be picked up.
Atlanta police officers and K-9 units were seen searching on foot and with a drone in the area. Schierbaum said the department has officers on bicycles, on foot, in vehicles, and using drones in the search for the man, who he described as a Black man wearing all black clothing and riding an orange bicycle.
Credit: APD
Credit: APD
“The infrastructure of cameras on the Beltline is robust, so we have good photos of him. We just don’t have his identity,” Schierbaum said. “We do have reasons to believe that he could be experiencing a mental health crisis.”
Police are asking the public to call in any sightings of the man.
Keona Swindler, a spokesperson for Atlanta Beltline Inc., which oversees planning and development of the miles-long walking and biking path, said the organization is “aware of an incident.” She directed questions about the stabbing to Atlanta police.
The police department has a dedicated unit, dubbed the “path force,” of officers who patrol the Beltline and nearby parks and neighborhoods, according to its website.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Another stabbing incident took place on the Beltline in the same area in 2024. That fatal stabbing involved an escaped prison inmate who was charged with murder in the incident, the AJC previously reported.
In 2022, a man was found shot to death on the Beltline in Inman Park. Two men were found guilty of attempting to rob the victim, 60-year-old Thomas Arnold, before killing him, the AJC previously reported.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Caroline Silva, Vanessa McCray and Ben Hendren contributed to this story.
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