Vehicle Rams FBI Atlanta Field Office Gates, Suspect in Custody

Vehicle Rams FBI Atlanta Field Office Gates, Suspect in Custody
The FBI is investigating a recent string of bomb threats against New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, a top target of Beijing. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Chase Smith
Updated:
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A suspect is in custody in Georgia after a car was rammed into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Field Office in Atlanta on Monday afternoon.

“We can confirm a person rammed into FBI Atlanta’s front gate shortly after noon today,” the field office public information officer told The Epoch Times in an email. “The suspect was taken into custody by DeKalb Police. There are no injuries and agents are checking the car as a precaution. We don’t have any further information at this time.”

A brief press conference was held shortly after 4:00 p.m. local time, with a field office spokesman saying the man attempted to follow an authorized vehicle through the gate before a retractable secondary barrier stopped the vehicle. He added agents at the field office had undergone training for such an incident in the past.

The man exited the vehicle but was apprehended by special agents passing by, the spokesman added. No motives are currently known and the man was taken to an Atlanta hospital for evaluation, adding there were no additional injuries.

The spokesman said they are considering state and federal charges against the suspect as they continue their investigation.

A tow truck removed the vehicle from the scene just before 4:00 p.m. local time, as observed on video from local television helicopters. The vehicle appeared to be a mid-sized rust-colored SUV with South Carolina tags.

The DeKalb County Police Department told The Epoch Times that the FBI is handling the investigation and all information on the incident would come from that agency.

Other FBI Field Offices Targeted

The incident at the Atlanta Field Office on Monday comes amid similar incidents at FBI field offices in recent years.

An armed man was killed in 2022 after attempting to breach the Cincinnati, Ohio field office. That suspect fled the scene and engaged in an hours-long standoff before being killed, the agency said at the time.

In November, a man was arrested in South Florida after he attempted to ram the gates at the FBI headquarters in Miramar, Florida.

Years earlier, a man crashed a dump truck into the FBI Pittsburgh field office in 2016 and faced local and federal charges for that incident.

Chase Smith
Chase Smith
Author
Chase is an award-winning journalist. He covers national news for The Epoch Times and is based out of Tennessee. For news tips, send Chase an email at [email protected] or connect with him on X.
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