A loving father with a budding household. A devoted Division of Homeland Safety worker. A mom with a preteen.
These are the individuals who misplaced their lives after a killing spree final week throughout a number of Atlanta suburbs left three households devastated.
On April 13, 40-year-old Lauren Bullis, 31-year-old Prianna Weathers and 48-year-old Tony Matthews have been shot inside hours of one another as they have been out doing the odd duties of life.
Based mostly on surveillance footage and license plate readers, authorities have mentioned they consider one man, 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel of Atlanta, shot all three victims in a rampage that has been highlighted by the Trump administration.
Bullis and Weathers instantly died from their accidents. Matthews was hospitalized for six days till he died April 19.
Matthews was a part of an enormous household as one in every of 4 brothers – and he was beginning his circle of relatives as properly.
He and his spouse had a daughter final yr, his sister-in-law Miranda Matthews informed CNN, and he not too long ago introduced over his three stepchildren from Uganda, the place their mom is from. He was working to get the kids visas, however that course of is now paused as his household reels from the lack of their loving father and husband, she mentioned.
Tony Matthews was the kind of one that would assist anybody, she mentioned. The start of his daughter, who will flip 1 in June, was an extremely particular second for him, his brother Michael Matthews mentioned.
“He was so glad. It made him a fair higher individual, and he was already an important individual,” he mentioned.
Police beforehand mentioned Tony Matthews was unhoused, however his household mentioned he wasn’t, clarifying he didn’t have his ID when he was discovered shot exterior a Brookhaven grocery retailer within the early hours of April 13.
As his situation declined, his daughter was there to say goodbye, a second the household recorded so she would have the reminiscence of her doting father, Miranda Matthews mentioned. The household is presently fundraising to assist pay for his funeral.
Bullis introduced pleasure and kindness to her neighborhood
At her job at DHS, Bullis was often called a devoted worker and “consummate skilled” who was “dedicated to public service,” in line with her obituary.
However she was additionally an adventurous explorer who traveled the world and introduced pleasure to associates close to and much.
“You couldn’t meet her and never be her pal,” fellow DHS auditor Ashley Toillion informed The Related Press. “She was simply the nicest, sweetest, most encouraging individual I’ve ever met.”
Lauren Bullis poses for a photograph on the Inexperienced Meadows Protect in Cobb County, Georgia, in 2025 – Sunisa Kim Kipe by way of AP
Bullis was a beloved fixture in her neighborhood – usually seen operating, strolling her French bulldog, Sancho, or tending to the flowers she planted in her yard.
She “embraced the game of operating with nice gusto, having run 5ks, 10ks, and half-marathons throughout the nation,” her obituary says. “On visits to family members, Lauren at all times requested for a spare key so she might get her miles in with out waking her hosts.”
Simply final month, Bullis accomplished her first marathon in Atlanta.
“She’s very athletic,” neighbor Portia Powell mentioned. “If she ain’t strolling the canine, she’s operating.”
Powell solid a powerful friendship with Bullis in recent times, bonding over their shared love of gardening.
“She’s at all times, ‘Hey, Miss Portia, the way you doing?’… so outgoing and pleasant,” Powell mentioned.
Bullis was shot and stabbed whereas strolling her canine in Panthersville – an unincorporated neighborhood about 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta – and her demise has “impacted the neighborhood tremendously,” Powell mentioned. “I feel it will make us all extra conscious of what’s happening within the neighborhood and look out for one another.”
Crime scene tape marks an space close to the location the place Lauren Bullis was killed. – R.J. Rico/AP
The tragedy devastated colleagues on the DHS Workplace of Inspector Basic, the place Bullis was an auditor and a workforce chief, the company mentioned.
“Lauren approached her work with integrity, thoughtfulness, and a dedication to excellence that strengthened our group and the communities we serve,” DHS mentioned. “She introduced heat, kindness, and a real sense of care to her colleagues every day.”
Bullis’ husband, stepdaughter, dad and mom and siblings at the moment are united in grief, robbed of their beneficiant, hilarious, globe-trotting beacon of sunshine.
“She put the wants of others earlier than her personal, tending many instances through the years to sick associates and ones who had merely overindulged. She was huge enjoyable, an important host, dignified, unpretentious, and riotously humorous,” Bullis’ obituary says.
“Lauren cherished journey, alone or with others, having visited far-flung locales in Egypt, Peru, Greece, Spain, Eire, and France, amongst many, many others,” it learn. “She was endlessly planning her subsequent journey.”
One other sufferer’s household quietly grieves in North Carolina
Whereas the string of assaults rattles communities in Georgia, Prianna Weathers’ mom mourns privately in her North Carolina dwelling.
“This was a mindless demise,” she informed CNN. “All of those folks he killed … these have been harmless folks. He had no motive to be harming them. They weren’t doing something to him.”
Weathers was killed in Decatur, not removed from the place she was born 31 years in the past, her mom mentioned.
She requested to not be recognized to guard the privateness of Weathers’ 12-year-old son, whom she all of the sudden finds herself elevating and who should develop up with out his mom.
No clear relationship between the victims and suspect
It’s not clear why the three have been attacked, and investigators are investigating whether or not the assaults have been random.
Bullis’ employment at DHS and Adon Abel’s standing as a naturalized citizen have sparked questions – and criticism from the company about crimes the suspect dedicated after he grew to become a US citizen.
Don Plummer of the Georgia Public Defender Council declined to element the suspect’s case and background.
“We perceive the extreme public consideration surrounding this case, however Mr. Abel has the identical constitutional rights as another accused individual, and our job is to guard these rights in courtroom,” he informed CNN.
“It is a tragic and severe case. Nothing about defending constitutional rights minimizes that. Actually, the rule of regulation issues most when feelings are excessive and the allegations are essentially the most severe.”
Adon Abel, a local of the UK, grew to become a naturalized US citizen in 2022, DHS mentioned.
The naturalization course of usually takes years, and it’s not clear whether or not the majority of Adon Abel’s processing came about throughout the first Trump administration or the Biden administration. DHS didn’t reply CNN’s query concerning the suspect’s naturalization timeline.
Olaolukitan Adon Abel of Atlanta faces prices together with aggravated assault and two counts of malice homicide. – DeKalb County Sheriff’s Workplace
DHS blamed the earlier administration for Adon Abel’s naturalization, describing the suspect as a “monster” in a Fb put up.
The company additionally mentioned Adon Abel was convicted of a number of crimes, together with sexual battery and assault with a lethal weapon. Court docket information present a defendant listed as Adon Olaolukitan pleaded responsible to 4 counts of misdemeanor sexual battery for a 2025 incident in Georgia and was sentenced to 48 months of probation.
One other courtroom submitting exhibits a defendant named “Olaolukitan Adonabel” pleaded responsible to a 2024 felony assault with a lethal weapon “aside from a firearm on a Police officer or firefighter” in California. That report notes the suspect’s title may seem as Olaolukitan Adon Abel or Adon Olaolukitan.
The information present a number of different prices, however these circumstances have been dismissed.
The general public defender council lambasted DHS’ characterization of the suspect.
“It’s irresponsible and troubling for public officers to label an accused individual a ‘monster’ earlier than adjudication,” Plummer mentioned. “That type of language could also be politically handy, however it’s corrosive to due course of and to the essential proper to a good trial.”
Adon Abel was taken into custody April 13 throughout a site visitors cease in Georgia’s Troup County, which borders Alabama. He now faces a number of prices together with two counts of malice homicide, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm throughout the fee of a felony, police mentioned. After Matthews died, police mentioned they’re searching for so as to add one other cost of malice homicide.
CNN’s Chris Boyette reported from Decatur, Georgia; Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta; and Taylor Romine reported and wrote from Los Angeles. CNN’s Sneha Dhandapani, Ryan Younger, Jason Morris and Lindsey Knight contributed to this report.
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