False claims circulating on social media have wrongly linked a Canadian resident, Silas Kruger, to the recent shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) building in Atlanta’s Emory Point area.

On Friday, an unidentified gunman opened fire at the CDC facility on Clifton Street. While multiple online posts named Kruger as the suspect, Atlanta police have not confirmed the shooter’s identity.

Kruger’s mother told Hindustan Times that the allegations are completely untrue. “We have people harassing my son online, but we live in Canada. They have been spreading false information about him for years,” she said in an email.

Kruger is the son of a well-known contractor with over 2.9 million Instagram followers under the handle @krugerconstruction. Images of him appear on the account, and some appear to have been misused by a parody profile, which went viral and fueled the misinformation.

Authorities have reiterated that the actual suspect — who was killed during an exchange of gunfire with police — has not yet been identified.

According to a CNN report, a CDC employee witnessed the attacker approach the building with a backpack, set it down, pull out a rifle, and fire at the facility. One Atlanta police officer and a civilian were injured in the incident; their conditions remain unknown.

A law enforcement source told CNN that the suspect’s family claimed he was either ill or believed himself to be ill, and blamed the COVID-19 vaccine. This belief allegedly motivated the attack on the CDC building.

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