Avid runner stabbed and shot in string of random attacks allegedly carried out by repeat offender
A 40-year-old avid runner was stabbed and shot during a string of attacks allegedly carried out by a repeat offender in Georgia.
Lauren Bullis, 40, was identified as one of the victims in Monday's string of attacks in DeKalb County, Georgia. Police arrested 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel on Monday following the back-to-back incidents.
"It is apparent to us that this was a completely random attack," Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said Monday.
The timeline of the terror began at approximately 12:50 a.m. Monday, when DeKalb County Police discovered a woman shot multiple times on Wesley Chapel Road. She later died from her injuries, police said. Authorities have not identified her.
The violence then shifted to Brookhaven, where a man was ambushed and shot several times while sleeping outside a business center on Peachtree Road. He remains in critical condition.
The spree reached a horrific conclusion around 6:50 a.m. on Battle Forest Drive. There, 40-year-old Bullis was found both shot and stabbed in a vicious attack. Witnesses, police said, reported seeing a man standing over her before he fled the scene. Bullis did not survive her injuries.
Adel was captured in Troup County after law enforcement used license plate recognition cameras to track his silver Volkswagen Jetta, police said.
He is charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in Brookhaven, with further charges expected across the jurisdiction.
Records reviewed by FOX 5 Atlanta show that Adel is no stranger to the legal system. He was arrested last fall for sexual battery in Chatham County and was sentenced to jail time and probation, which included a requirement for a mental health evaluation.
Bullis' social media accounts showed that the 40-year-old Georgia woman was an avid runner, posting photos of participating in recent races.
In a Facebook post, her cousin, Lee Renfroe, wrote that Bullis was "such a special person."
"My cousin Lauren Bullis was brutally murdered in a series of violent attacks in the Decatur GA area," he wrote. "We love you and miss you Lauren. Please say a prayer for our families as well as the families of the other victims. I don’t even know how to completely put my thoughts together right now."