Gunman kills police officer near Atlanta CDC headquarters

WASHINGTON: A police officer was shot and killed by a gunman near the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta on Friday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene, authorities said.

Atlanta police chief Darin Schierbaum said officers found the critically injured officer, identified as David Rose, 33, of the DeKalb County Police Department. The department said he left behind a pregnant wife and two children.

The shooter’s identity has not been released.

According to Schierbaum, multiple rounds were fired on the CDC campus, but no other people were killed or physically wounded. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told reporters that no civilians were shot in the incident.

The shooting started before 5pm local time near the CDC campus and a pharmacy, Schierbaum said.

Police believe the suspect was a lone shooter. He was found dead with a gunshot wound, possibly self-inflicted, on the second floor of a CVS drugstore.

Ninety-two children at a daycare on the CDC campus were safely evacuated and reunited with their families at a nearby school.

Schierbaum said it was too early to comment on reports by CNN and the New York Times that the gunman blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for an unspecified illness. The man’s father had earlier told authorities that his son was suicidal, the reports said.

CDC director Susan Monarez wrote on X that the agency was “heartbroken by today’s attack on our Roybal Campus” and praised the “courageous” police officer who was killed.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also paid homage to those who “answer the call to serve and who protect their fellow Georgians,” adding that they should be in people’s prayers.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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