After a chaotic and nearly eight-hour stand off with police, the man accused of opening fire in an Atlanta hospital is now in custody. And in the days leading up to this year’s Kentucky Derby, four horses have mysteriously died. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Thursday, May 4, 2023.
Atlanta mass shooting suspect arrested
Police arrested the man suspected of killing a CDC worker and injuring four other people at a medical facility in Atlanta.
Deion Patterson, a 24-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran, was in a waiting room at a hospital when he reportedly became agitated, took out a handgun, and opened fire before leaving and stealing an unattended vehicle. Authorities arrested Patterson at a nearby condo building.
In a statement, the CDC confirmed that their colleague, Amy St. Pierre, was killed in the shooting.
Police say the suspect’s family has been cooperating with the investigation and his mother has expressed her condolences to the victims and their families.
Public hearing in Trump’s Manhattan criminal case
Former President Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan will have its second public hearing today. A judge is hearing arguments over whether Trump should be limited in what he can say publicly about the evidence against him. Trump will not be in attendance at today’s hearing.
Last month, he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Florida passes bills on diversity, pronouns
Florida Republicans approved bills to ban diversity programs in colleges and prevent students and teachers from being required to use pronouns that don’t correspond to someone’s sex.
The two proposals were given final passage by the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate with Gov. DeSantis expected to sign the bills into law.
Republican allies of DeSantis approved his priority bills this legislative session. Some of them included sexual orientation, gender identity, race and education. These are expected to be talking points if DeSantis runs for president.
The state’s legislative session ends this week.
PacWest Bancorp shares drop more than 50%
There are new concerns over possible turmoil in the banking industry, after shares of PacWest Bancorp plummeted more than 50% after trading ended May 3. The market reaction followed a Bloomberg news report that indicated it could be exploring a potential sale.
The mid-sized California-based bank has around $44 billion in assets. It comes just days after JPMorgan stepped in to buy the majority of assets from First Republic Bank, the third major U.S. bank to go under in a few months’ span.
FDA approves first RSV vaccine
The FDA has approved the world’s first RSV vaccine. It’s a shot for adults 60 years or older. The vaccine is considered a milestone that’s been “decades in the making.”
“The big news is that we have one manufacturer now that has produced an RSV vaccine that is targeted to older adults. So, along with influenza vaccine and COVID vaccine, we’ll be able to prevent serious disease that can lead to hospitalization in older adults against these three very bad respiratory viruses,” Dr. William Schaffner from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases said.
Researchers first attempted to develop a vaccine for the respiratory virus nearly 60 years ago. The CDC’s input is still needed before the vaccine can become available to the public.
A meeting with a CDC committee is scheduled for June to discuss the newly approved RSV shot.
4 horses die ahead of Kentucky Derby
Four horses have died since the opening night of the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs Racetrack, which hosts the crown jewel of competitive horse races, called the deaths “highly unusual” and “completely unacceptable.”
While thousands of horses have died in the last decade from racing-related injuries, four deaths during a single Kentucky Derby week, which takes place every May in Louisville, Kentucky, have owners, trainers and animal welfare activists asking questions.
Two horses died from unknown causes when they both suddenly collapsed after completing races. Two more horses were euthanized due to serious injuries. The derby says they take the deaths very seriously and say the incidents must be addressed.
