Ex guns down woman in CNN headquarters

A domestic dispute erupted in gunfire at broadcast giant CNN’s headquarters, killing a woman and critically wounding the ex-boyfriend who pulled a gun on her.

The man and woman were arguing near the main entrance of the complex in Atlanta, Georgia, when the man shot her, police officer James Polite said. The armed man was then shot by a CNN security guard.

The woman was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital, authorities said. The man is in critical condition.

The woman, who checked and stocked mini-bars at a hotel attached to CNN Centre, was Clara Riddles, 22, of College Park, Georgia, said Caryn Kboudi, a spokeswoman for the Texas-based Omni Hotel chain.

Polite described the man as the woman’s ex-boyfriend. Kboudi said the hotel was not aware of any of the woman’s domestic troubles.

The victims were seen being carried out of the building on stretchers. The man’s face was covered in blood and his shirt was removed.

CNN said the offices of its internet operations, CNN.com, were immediately evacuated. Video footage also showed police pointing guns at a man lying on the ground at the bottom of an escalator inside the building.

An announcement over the building’s public-address system said there had been gunfire “with potential casualties”. Police cordoned off an area by the escalators near the main entrance, facing Centennial Olympic Park.

The park was the site of a bombing that killed a woman and injured more than 100 people during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Besides the Omni Hotel, the CNN complex also includes a large atrium and a food court. It is connected to Philips Arena, the home of the National Basketball Association’s Atlanta Hawks.