A man now faces charges in a series of attacks near Atlanta that left two women dead and a man critically injured. The case has drawn attention from the Trump administration after authorities identified one of the victims as a Department of Homeland Security employee who was walking her dog.
The killing of the DHS worker, Lauren Bullis, along with the shootings of two other victims on Monday, prompted Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin to release a statement. He raised concerns that the 26-year-old suspect, U.K.-native Olaolukitan Adon Abel, received U.S. citizenship in 2022 during President Joe Biden’s administration.
“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, listing several of the defendant’s alleged prior crimes without clarifying whether they occurred before he obtained citizenship.
Court records indicate that Olaolukitan Adon Abel—whose name appears in multiple variations across court and government documents—pleaded guilty in California in October 2024 to assaulting two police officers with a deadly weapon and attacking another individual while stationed at Naval Base Coronado.
Authorities say they believe at least one victim in this week’s shootings was chosen at random, and possibly others as well.
A morning of violence
Authorities discovered the first victim with multiple gunshot wounds near a restaurant in the Decatur area around 1 a.m. Monday. Emergency responders rushed her to a hospital, where she later died, DeKalb County Police Chief Gregory Padrick said during a news conference. Police have not publicly identified her.
Roughly 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 a grocery store was shot multiple times, Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said. The man, whose identity has not 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 both gunshot and stab wounds, Padrick said. She died at the scene.
Investigators in Brookhaven later determined that all three attacks were connected, Gurley said.
Authorities took Adon Abel into custody later Monday during a traffic stop in Troup County, which borders Alabama. Court records show he faces two counts of malice murder, along with aggravated assault and firearms charges. He waived an initial court appearance Tuesday, and a public defender listed as his attorney did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Toyin Adon Abel Jr., the defendant’s brother, declined to discuss 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.”
Remembered for her warmth and compassion
Bullis worked in several roles at the 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 shared on social media that she brought “warmth, kindness, and a genuine sense of care to her colleagues each day.”
In a statement, her relatives said she loved her family, running, reading, and traveling, and that “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 quickly became close friends after bonding over running and soon made plans to participate in 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 and most recently served in the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron in Coronado, California. As a petty officer, he earned a Navy “E” Ribbon for superior performance in battle readiness.
However, in 2024, authorities arrested and charged him with assaulting two Coronado police officers and attacking another individual. Court records show he pleaded guilty, and the Navy discharged him in September of that year.
Mullin says suspect had criminal record
Mullin said Adon Abel has a criminal history that includes a sexual battery conviction.
Online court records show that an individual 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 stated that since President Donald Trump took office, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—overseen by DHS—has worked to prevent individuals with criminal histories from obtaining citizenship. However, the U.S. has long prohibited people convicted of most violent felonies from becoming citizens, and it was not immediately clear whether Adon Abel had a criminal record before he became a citizen in 2022.
In response to a request for additional details about the case and the defendant’s criminal history, DHS directed The Associated Press to its social media post about Bullis and her death.
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