A tense standoff near Georgia’s Emory University ended Friday evening with the suspected shooter and a police officer dead.
“There is no ongoing threat to the Emory campus or the surrounding neighborhood,” the City of Atlanta Police Department posted on social media shortly before 7 p.m. “The incident involved a single shooter, who is now deceased.”
The suspect was found dead from apparent gunshot wounds on the second floor of a CVS after police followed him into the store, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said during a Friday night press conference. It wasn’t immediately clear if those injuries were self-inflicted.
Police did not offer any additional details on the identity of the suspect. However, after speaking with his family, a law enforcement source told CNN that cops are operating on the theory that he was ill or thought he was ill, and blamed that on the Covid-19 vaccine.
Authorities believe he was targeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is located right next to the Emory University campus.
“Multiple rounds” were fired into the CDC building, Chief Schierbaum said.
Mayor Andre Dickens said at the press conference that no civilians were shot by the gunman, though an officer from Delkab County was seriously wounded while responding to the scene. He was rushed to Emory University Hospital, but later pronounced dead.
Authorities didn’t identify the officer by name, but said he was a husband and a father with another child on the way.
Law enforcement first descended on the area around Emory in response to reports of gunshots being fired shortly before 5 p.m.
“The Atlanta Police Department is responding to reports of an active shooter in the area of Emory University, near 1760 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, Ga. Please avoid the area,” the department posted on social media.
The school’s emergency response office followed up with its own post just before 6 p.m., confirming an active shooter on campus near the Emory Point CVS, across the street from the CDC.
In the wake of police confirming the shooter’s death, an earlier lockdown was lifted, though students and staff were told to continue avoiding the area “as the scene remains active and law enforcement continues its investigation.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp noted that Friday’s incident came just two days after five people were wounded in a mass shooting at Fort Stewart, roughly 240 miles southeast of Emory.
“Twice this week, deranged criminals have targeted innocent Georgians,” he wrote on Facebook. “Each time, brave first responders rushed toward the danger to subdue the shooter and save lives, reminding us of just how crucial they are.”
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