One person killed and at least four injured in shooting in midtown Atlanta

One person was fatally shot and at least four injured on Wednesday in a shooting in a midtown Atlanta building, police said.

Atlanta police, who were still searching for the suspect on Wednesday afternoon, said there had been no additional shots fired since the initial shooting unfolded just after 12.30pm in a waiting room on the 11th floor of the Northside Hospital in midtown Atlanta, a commercial area with office buildings and high-rise apartments.

According to Atlanta police chief Darin Schierbaum, all five individuals who were shot were women, CNN reports.

He was discharged from active duty in January 2023, the agency said, adding that it is closely working with authorities in the investigation.

Earlier today, dozens of police and fire vehicles had gathered along West Peachtree Street, as officers with assault-style rifles, helmets and vests arrived on scene.

About an hour after the gunfire, a Swat team gathered near the High Art Museum, about three quarters of a mile from the shooting scene, according to video posted by a local CBS affiliate.

In an impassioned address on Thursday, the Democratic Georgia senator Raphael Warnock told his senate colleagues his own children were on lockdown earlier this afternoon.

Cities around the US have been racked by gun violence and mass shootings.

On Wednesday, the GVA said there had been 189 mass shootings in the US this year.