WASHINGTON: A gunman killed a police officer Friday near the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control in the US city of Atlanta before being found dead at the scene, authorities said.
No other people were killed or physically wounded in the shooting, during which multiple rounds were fired in the CDC campus, police said.
“Officers arrived — found a critically injured DeKalb County police officer that was down,“ Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a press conference.
The police officer was later identified as 33-year-old David Rose of the DeKalb County Police Department. He left behind a pregnant wife and two children, the department said in a statement.
The shooter’s identity has not been released.
Schierbaum said it was too early in the investigation to comment on reports by CNN and the New York Times that the gunman blamed the coronavirus vaccine for an unspecified illness he may have had.
The man’s father had reported to authorities earlier Friday that he was suicidal, the reports said.
The shooting began before 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT) near the CDC campus and a pharmacy, Schierbaum said.
The suspect — who police believe was a single shooter — was found dead on the second floor of a CVS drugstore with a gunshot wound, which may have been self-inflicted.
“The shooter is deceased, and we don’t have any civilians that have been shot in this active shooter incident,“ Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told reporters.
Ninety-two children in a daycare on the CDC campus were safely evacuated and were being reunited with families at a nearby school.
“We at @CDCgov are heartbroken by today’s attack on our Roybal Campus,“ CDC director Susan Monarez wrote on X, praising the “courageous” policeman who was killed.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also paid homage to those who “answer the call to serve and who protect their fellow Georgians”.
“We ask that you join us in holding them in our prayers, along with those harmed this evening near the CDC Center.” – AFP
