Gunman kills police officer near Atlanta CDC headquarters
"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".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
40 minutes ago
- France 24
Washingtonians tired of crime but skeptical of Trump takeover
The shooting broke out just a few hours after President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the US capital, which Trump described as overrun by crime -- though official data shows that violence has recently decreased. "It's sickening," Tony told AFP early Tuesday. "It's not safe anymore." "You do need change, you do need help," Mike said. But Mike added that the city does not need the help Trump is sending in -- "not National Guards." The day after Trump's press conference, residents of the area near the city center told stories of drug sales on the street, but were skeptical that federal intervention would make a difference. Tony has always lived in the area and, like the other residents interviewed, did not want to give his last name. He described a local street corner as an "open air market" with "all the drugs that you want." Anne, who was holding pruning shears as she weeded, said needles are often discovered in the flowerbed of the church on the corner. It was near this spot that Tymark Wells, 33, was shot around 7:00 pm Monday before later dying in hospital, according to a police report that did not mention a motive or suspect. 'Stunt' The area is the "wild wild West and it's always been like that," said Lauren, who lives in a building nearby. "We're so desensitized," the 42-year-old added. When Trump announced his DC plan, he said it was "becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness." However the Department of Justice said in January that violent crime in Washington recently hit its lowest level in 30 years. Because of easy access to guns in the United States, the crime number still "may look differently in America than it does in other parts of the world," Brianne Nadeau, a member of DC's overwhelmingly Democratic city council, told AFP. "But we have made substantial strides here," she said, calling Trump's federal takeover a "political stunt." The annual number of homicides in the city peaked at 274 in 2023, before falling to 187 last year. That is still one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the country. Trump also justified the takeover by citing the number of homeless people in the city. Ace, a 16-year-old walking her dog, said the presence of the homeless contributed to the feeling of insecurity. Sometimes unhoused people would get on top of her parents' car, she said. "You don't know if they are going to break in." 'Only the beginning' While waiting for the National Guard, around 850 federal agents were deployed to Washington on Monday, making 23 arrests, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. "This is only the beginning," she said. Terry Cole, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration tasked with leading the federal takeover of the city's police, said patrolling would be ramped up. Federal agents and police will work "hand in hand" during these patrols, Cole added. The city's Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has been forced to accommodate the takeover, said this approach is "the wrong way to do it." Federal agents do not go out on patrol, she said. "That's not what they're trained to do." Tom, who lives near the scene of Monday's shooting, told AFP there were not enough police patrols in the area. But he also criticized Trump's "draconian approach," saying it was unlikely to "yield any good results." Across the street, a small memorial stood in tribute to a different shooting victim. A picture of a young Black man has been wrapped around a tree, with flowers arrayed at its base. Turell Delonte, 30, was shot dead by police at the spot in 2023, after he was suspected of drug trafficking.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
US judge orders humane conditions for migrant detainees at NY site
Images have emerged showing unsanitary and cramped conditions in a holding room in New York City's 26 Federal Plaza, where migrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are detained. Manhattan Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a temporary restraining order directing that no detainee be kept in less than 50 square feet (4.6 square meters) of space, without clean bedding and hygiene products, or be deprived of private attorney-client calls. ICE "shall not retaliate in any manner against Plaintiff (including in his or her immigration proceedings...) for complaining about any alleged violation of this temporary restraining order," Kaplan ordered. Hundreds of migrants have passed through the facility as immigration officers have stepped up their arrests of those going through the immigration court in a downtown skyscraper. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport large numbers of migrants, has encouraged authorities to be more aggressive as he seeks to hit his widely reported target of one million deportations annually. Since Trump's return to the White House, Homeland Security agents have adopted the tactic -- criticized by rights groups -- of waiting outside immigration courts nationwide and arresting migrants as they leave at the end of asylum hearings. Armed agents with badges from different federal agencies loiter outside court hearings in the tower block in central New York, holding paperwork with photographs of migrants to be targeted, AFP has seen. In the complaint filed Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Foundation sued the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of Sergio Mercado and other unnamed detainees. The filing alleged that "immigrants (are) being detained in crowded rooms at a federal building in the heart of Manhattan without beds, sufficient food, hygiene products, access to showers, or the ability to communicate confidentially with attorneys." "They bring this action to challenge these unlawful conditions of confinement and ban on attorney access," said the class action suit. Eunice Cho, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU's National Prison Project, said "today's order sends a clear message: ICE cannot hold people in abusive conditions and deny them their Constitutional rights to due process and legal representation." "We'll continue to fight to ensure that peoples' rights are upheld at 26 Federal Plaza and beyond." The judge set a deadline of August 18 for the government to respond to the claims in the complaint ahead of a ruling on a preliminary injunction.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Richardson apologizes to Coleman, speaks about domestic violence arrest
The 25-year-old US sprint star, who took 100m silver at last year's Paris Olympics and the 2023 world crown at Budapest, was arrested on July 27 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after shoving boyfriend Coleman. Both competed days later at the US championships in Eugene, Oregon, where Coleman, who reportedly did not press charges, said she should not have been arrested. Richardson, nevertheless, apologized in an Instagram posting about the incident. "I apologize to Christian. He came into my life and gave me more than a relationship but a greater understanding of unconditional love from what I've experienced in my past," Richardson wrote. "Due to my past trauma and pain, I was blind and blocked off to not only receive it but give it. I love him and to him I can't apologize enough." In a video on social media, Richardson said she put herself "in a compromised situation" and has done "definitely a lot of self-reflection." and "I hold myself accountable" for her actions. "I'm taking this time to not only see myself but get myself a certain level of help that overall is going to reflect who I truly am in my heart and my spirit and not allowing this moment –- but accepting this moment –- to be more." Richardson said she wanted to be held accountable to be her best self by family and fans. "I refuse to run away but to face everything that comes to me head on because everything on the other side is great but you've got to go through in order to get there," she said. Richardson withdrew from the 100m semi-finals at the US meet but because she is the reigning 100 world champion she has qualified for the event at the World Championships next month in Tokyo.
