E-Paper
False claims about Emory University shooter surface on social media. Here's a fact check
Several social media posts linked Silas Kruger to CDC shooting at Emory Point, but Atlanta police have not yet confirmed the suspect’s identity.
Silas Kruger, a Canada resident, was linked to the shooting at the Emory Point CDC building in Atlanta on Friday. Multiple reports claimed on social media that the Kruger was the person who opened fire at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention building, on Clifton Street at Emory Point. However, his mother clarified that he is not the shooter.
“We have people that have been harassing my son (Silas Kruger) online, but we live in Canada. They have been spreading false information about him online for years,” she wrote in an email to Hindustan Times.
The person who has been identified as Silas Kruger, and whom social media posts claim is the suspect in the shooting in Atlanta on Friday, is the son of a popular contractor who has over 2.9 million followers on his Instagram account. Several photos of Silas Kruger were present on the account, which goes by the username @krugerconstruction.
Posts from a social media account, believed to be a parody account of Kruger, went viral on social media. Several posts were shared from the account, misleading people into believing that Kruger was the suspect in the shooting.
To reiterate, the suspect in the shooting at the CDC building, who was deceased during exchange of fire with officers, has not yet been identified.
CNN reported, citing an employee at the CDC, that the suspect approached the building with a backpack, put the backpack down, pulled out a rifle, and shot at the building. One officer with Atlanta PD and a civilian were injured in the shootout. Their current condition is unknown.
Additionally, the CNN quoted a law enforcement officer who said that they spoke to the family of the suspect and learned that the suspect was sick or believed he was sick and blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for that. He reportedly targeted the CDC building, as a result, the unidentified officer said.
