A cop was killed when an unhinged gunman who blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for an apparent illness unleashed a hail of bullets outside the CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Friday, according to police and reports.
The deranged suspect, who died at the scene, opened fire after entering a building housing a CVS at Georgia’s Emory University around 4:50 p.m., forcing students to shelter in place on the last day of the summer term, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the alleged shooter sprayed multiple rounds at law enforcement and the health agency, which also houses a daycare caring for 92 children.
The gunman, described as a white man, was found on the second floor of the building with a fatal gunshot wound after shooting a DeKalb County officer, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters Friday night.
“We do not know at this time if it was an officer or it was self-inflicted,” Schierbaum said of the assailant’s gunshot.
The officer, a married father of three, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.
“This evening, there is a wife without a husband. There are three children, one unborn, without a father. There is a mother and a father, as well as siblings who also share in this traumatic loss,” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said.
“Let’s join together to give this family the support it needs during this traumatic loss.”
Authorities confirmed that no other civilians were injured in the shooting and there is no longer an active threat.
Law enforcement sources told CNN the shooter was possibly sick, attributing the supposed ailment to the COVID-19 vaccine, according to police interviews with the suspect’s family.
The Atlanta school issued an urgent alert shortly after 5 p.m., reporting an active shooter near the Emory Point CVS on campus and urging all students to “RUN” and “HIDE.”
A rapid barrage of gunfire can be heard in horrifying social media videos as police and first responders raced to the scene.
In one video filmed by a nearby resident, eight gunshots ring out, followed by a brief pause, then more than a dozen pop in rapid succession.
“It sounded like fireworks going off, one right after the other,” Brandy Giraldo, the owner of a nearby deli, told the Associated Press.
A post from the school had advised students to shelter in place as the Atlanta Police Department responded to 1760 Clifton Road – close to where the CVS referred to in the bulletin is located. The lockdown was lifted by 6:30 p.m.
Police swarmed Emory Point and the main campus of the CDC, FOX 5 reported, while chilling photos shared on social media showed bullet holes piercing the windows of the health agency’s headquarters, located right next to the university.
One police cruiser at the scene also appeared to have been hit by about a dozen gunshots to its windshield and hood.
It remains unknown how the suspect died. The condition of the injured officer is also unclear.
One photo taken at the terrifying scene shows what appears to be a man lying lifeless on a stretcher beside an ambulance surrounded by dozens of police officers.
It remains unclear whether the person pictured is the alleged shooter.
“We are horrified by the news out of Emory University and praying for the safety of the entire campus community,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said on X.
“We stand ready to assist our law enforcement partners with whatever they may need.”
Georgia Rep. Mike Collins also shared on social media that he’s “praying for a swift end to this threat.”
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