Suspect who rammed SUV into front gate at FBI Atlanta headquarters is a Navy veteran, officials say

A Navy veteran is in custody after an SUV rammed the front gate of the FBI Atlanta field office shortly after noon on Monday, a law enforcement official told CBS News. 

The Dekalb County Police Department on Tuesday identified the suspect as Ervin Lee Bolling. The U.S. Navy later Tuesday confirmed Bolling served in the Navy and retired in 2017.

He remains in the hospital, but is expected to face state charges of interfering with government activity. The federal government has charged Bolling with willfully injuring or committing a depredation against property of the United States in excess of $1,000.

Bolling allegedly attempted to get through the security gate, where employees swipe in with their badges, by closely following a vehicle in front of him, the official said. The gate stopped his vehicle, and Bolling got out and ran away before being caught by FBI agents who were nearby, the official said. 

After crashing into the final barrier, Bolling allegedly left his vehicle and attempted to follow an FBI employee into the secure parking lot by walking past the gate, according to court records.

Bolling refused FBI agents' instructions to sit on the curb and stay there. He "stood up and tried to walk further into the parking lot," court documents say. After initial resistance, agents were able to handcuff him and take him into custody.

He was turned over to Dekalb County Police Department officers, the official told CBS News. 

There were no injuries reported and a bomb squad swept the area and the SUV as a precaution, the FBI Atlanta field office said in a statement. A law enforcement source tells CBS News that no weapons were found in the vehicle and has since been towed away.

Bolling, who is not associated with the FBI facility, was taken to a local area hospital for evaluation, FBI Atlanta said in a statement. His motives were not immediately known.

Video from CBS affiliate WANF-TV showed the SUV smashed into the gate Monday afternoon as bomb squad technicians and other law enforcement personnel responded to the scene.

—Pat Milton, Robert Legare and Eleanor Watson contributed reporting.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this report incorrectly identified Ervin Lee Bolling as a Marine veteran. He is a Navy veteran.