The woman who was killed during a mass shooting in Atlanta on Wednesday has been identified as a worker at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the agency.
Amy St Pierre, 38, was killed after Deion Patterson, 24, allegedly open fired in the waiting room of the Northside Hospital in Midtown Atlanta.
He allegedly shot Ms St Pierre and wounded four other women. Ms St Pierre died at the scene, according to police.
The other women who were wounded are Lisa Glynn, Georgette Whitlow, Jazzmin Daniel, and Alesha Hollinger, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing Mr Patterson's charging papers. They are reportedly still in critical condition, according to Grady Health Chief Medical Officer Dr Robert Jansen.
A CDC spokesperson confirmed in a statement that Ms St Pierre was an employee, and that the agency "is deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a colleague killed today in the Midtown Atlanta shooting. Our hearts are with her family, friends, and colleagues as they remember her and grieve this tragic loss,” according to the paper.
Ms St Pierre’s family offered the following statement to The Independent.
“Our beloved Amy was brilliant, kind, big-hearted and simply the ‘best of the best’. An Emory honors graduate and Georgia State MBA, Amy traveled the world with curiosity and courage. She was driven by compassion, both in her work in the field of maternal mortality, and in her everyday life. Amy was selfless always, she wanted more for others but never for herself. Generous supporter of worthy causes, she was the social conscience of our family.”
“Loving wife and mother of two, middle sister to two brothers, and cherished daughter, she was truly our pride and joy. Amy’s friends are the best reflection of the person she was. Their outpouring of tears, love and support are beyond measure.”
“She will be missed but never, ever forgotten.”
Her family has asked for privacy and said they will not be making further comment at this time.
Ms St Pierre was remembered on Twitter by one of her friends, who vowed to honour the advocacy work the woman did in life.
"She was my friend. My neighbor. My comrade. A forest defender. A mom. A wife. She deserved better. Her sweet kids and husband deserved better. I’m so sorry, Amy," her friend, Shannon, wrote on Twitter. "We honor you by fighting for change."
Shannon said that "Amy quietly supported local and regional movements for social Justice for years."
"She was one of the most politically rigorous, gigantic hearted humans I ever got the privilege to learn from and throw down with," she wrote. "The ripples of her generosity will be here with us forever."
Mr Patterson allegedly fled the scene on foot after the shooting, and was later arrested after an hours-long manhunt. He has been charged with murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
The suspect's mother, Minyone Patterson, is a nurse and accompanied him to the hospital, she told the Associated Press. She said that her son had “some mental instability going on” from medication he received from the Veterans Affairs office.
Mr Patterson was formerly a member of the US Coast Guard.
Ms Patterson said her son had requested Ativan but was given something different.
“Those families, those families,” Ms Patterson told the Associated Press, crying. “They’re hurting because they wouldn’t give my son his damn Ativan. Those families lost their loved ones because he had a mental break because they wouldn’t listen to me.”
