Three of the victims were in critical condition, two with life threatening injuries, a doctor said. Police, who rushed to the center at 5:54 am (local time) to respond to a call about a gunman, said the gunman was found dead inside the package-sorting facility, where he worked for FedEx as a package handler.
FedEx clerk Liza Aiken said she was working inside when she heard something drop, looked to her left and saw the gunman.
"He had bullets strapped across his chest like Rambo, a huge assault rifle and he had a knife," Aiken said in a parking lot where employees were gathering near the station. Before she could continue, a woman wearing a FedEx jacket told Aiken to stop talking and led her away.
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"A lot of them were able to walk off the ambulance," said hospital spokesman Tyler Pearson.
David Titus, a FedEx truck driver, said he was just coming to work when he saw someone walk up and shoot a security guard in the abdomen outside the building. He said he could hear more gunshots after the gunman went inside.
"It was chaos," Titus said. "Everyone was running ducking and hiding, trying to get out of there."
FedEx said the facility north of Atlanta is a hub where packages are sorted and loaded onto vehicles for delivery. It's located next to the general aviation airport for suburban Cobb County.