DECATUR, Ga. — Roommates of a former Navy serviceman now facing murder charges say he left their shared residence following a heated confrontation about the home’s temperature control just hours before a deadly shooting rampage in the Atlanta metro area.
Law enforcement officials have not yet disclosed what may have motivated the Monday morning violence. One of those killed was a federal employee with the Department of Homeland Security who was out with her pet near where the accused shooter lived.
The defendant, 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel from the United Kingdom, faces multiple charges in DeKalb County including two malice murder counts, aggravated assault, and weapons violations. Federal prosecutors announced Friday he’s also charged with illegal gun possession, alongside another individual accused of purchasing the weapon for him.
Adon Abel shared living space with six other people in individual rooms through PadSplit, a service providing affordable communal housing options. He received American citizenship in 2022 during his naval service near San Diego.
According to three housemates who spoke with The Associated Press, Adon Abel and another male resident engaged in a loud confrontation Sunday evening regarding the extremely low temperature Adon Abel maintained throughout their Panthersville home, located southeast of Atlanta.
“He (kept) the house freezing,” housemate Angela Britton explained Friday. “It’s not the first time they got into it about the AC. But that time was a real big argument.”
Fellow resident Lakisha Mckinzie described being so frightened by the altercation that she contacted her mother before going to sleep, requesting prayers for everyone’s well-being and mentioning ongoing “chaos and tension” within the household.
Mckinzie revealed she had felt unsafe around Adon Abel since he made unwanted physical contact with her the previous month following a date request. She said he regularly appeared at her door during late hours, though she never responded. Despite multiple complaints to her landlord, no corrective measures were implemented. PadSplit has not responded to inquiries about their knowledge of Adon Abel’s alleged conduct.
Following the confrontation, housemates reported that Adon Abel gathered his belongings in a large bag and departed in his vehicle shortly past midnight Monday.
Approximately 12:50 a.m., roughly five miles from the residence, 31-year-old Prianna Weathers suffered fatal gunshot wounds outside a Decatur-area restaurant, according to investigators.
Around 2 a.m., a 49-year-old unhoused individual was shot repeatedly while resting outside a grocery establishment in Brookhaven, approximately 12 miles northwest of the initial incident, stated Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley. The victim, whose identity remains withheld, continues receiving medical treatment in stable but serious condition as of Thursday.
Department of Homeland Security employee Lauren Bullis, who was exercising her dog several hundred feet from Adon Abel’s residence, was discovered around 7 a.m. suffering from both gunshot and knife wounds.
Officials have connected Adon Abel to all three violent incidents, though it remains uncertain whether he had prior contact with any victims — investigators believe at least one person was chosen randomly.
Georgia State Patrol officers detained Adon Abel’s vehicle around 11 a.m. Monday in Troup County, close to the Georgia-Alabama state line. Investigators reported discovering ammunition and bullet casings inside that matched evidence from Weathers’ murder scene. The firearm and additional casings were recovered near where Bullis was found, Hertzberg stated.
Federal charges for unlawful firearm possession were also filed against Adon Abel on Friday.
He shares these federal weapons charges with 35-year-old homeless individual Damon Marquis Yarns. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, the chief federal prosecutor for northern Georgia, said Yarns admitted to purchasing the shooting weapon for Adon Abel while falsely claiming ownership on federal documentation.
Adon Abel stands accused of illegal gun possession due to his previous felony conviction history.
Monday’s violent crimes prompted Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to release a statement questioning Adon Abel’s citizenship approval during Joe Biden’s presidency. Mullin detailed various prior alleged criminal activities, though the timing of these incidents relative to his citizenship remains unclear.
California court documents show Adon Abel entered guilty pleas in October 2024 in San Diego County for assault with a deadly weapon and criminal vandalism charges stemming from an alleged attack involving two police officers and a civilian.
Online records indicate someone with matching personal details pleaded guilty in June in Chatham County, Georgia, to four misdemeanor sexual battery charges.
Yarns allegedly purchased the 9mm handgun used in the shootings from a licensed Atlanta firearms dealer on February 20. Hertzberg reported that a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent interviewed Yarns Thursday, during which Yarns admitted buying the weapon for a Nigerian or British acquaintance known only as “Abdul or Obie,” later identifying Adon Abel from a photograph.
