A 21-year-old college student from Monmouth, Maine, died suddenly on Jan. 18.

To the surprise of those closest to him, it was revealed that Dustin Allard's death was caused by a brain tumor, according to the Morning Sentinel.

Allard was training to become an Oakland, Maine, police officer around the time of his passing.

His parents, Tammy and Gary Allard, expressed their shock at their son's tragic death.

“He was never sick before the day he died and had never been diagnosed with anything,” they said. “It was completely unexpected and fast.”

A 21-year-old Thomas College student,Dustin Allard died suddenly.

“He was never sick before the day he died and had never been diagnosed with anything,” his parents, Tammy and Gary Allard, said. “It was completely unexpected and fast.#diedsuddenly

RIP🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/wzphYNhzM3

— TruthOnly (@panajeck) January 25, 2023

Allard was very involved in the local community. Outside of his time spent completing his studies at Thomas College and the police academy, he worked at the Alfond Youth & Community Center.

Described as a go-getter, Allard took quite a bit of initiative in his professional life as well.

The young man earned a sales agent license, got a job at a real estate company and even showed interest in purchasing his own rental property in order to begin building up a portfolio.

Allard's parents are far from the only ones grieving his loss.

Tracey Frost, a school resource officer in Oakland, said the police department is "a little shook up" by his death.

According to Frost, police departments are having a hard time finding young, enthusiastic applicants, and Allard was a rare exception.

"To get such a high-quality young person interested in it … we were obviously really excited," Frost said. “We had heard over and over again just what an outstanding young man he was."

“We had every anticipation he was going to be a really, really good officer for us and it’s just an absolute shame he never got that chance.”

The "Died Suddenly" Phenomenon

This is yet another of the many unexpected deaths reported over the past several months.

Many have speculated that the apparent increase in deaths, especially those caused by heart problems, is thanks to the COVID vaccine. Others have dismissed the theory as a case of confirmation bias due to overreporting.

Vinay Prasad, a practicing hematologist-oncologist, and John Mandrola, a cardiologist, broke down the "died suddenly" phenomenon in an article published by The Free Press, a new media company founded by journalist Bari Weiss.

According to the two doctors, there is a serious lack of information regarding the seeming uptick in deaths.

That being said, they believe the vaccine side effects, particularly myocarditis in young men, have been severely downplayed and could be more common than expected.

Additionally, they cited a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed that noted an increase in deaths due to negative health effects caused by the lockdowns, including increased alcohol and drug use, diabetes and heart disease.

However, in their professional opinion, no one can be sure as of yet what is causing this phenomenon.

"We don’t know anything about how many of the heart-related deaths of the past two years can be attributed to vaccines, as opposed to the harms of lockdown, or multiple other causes. To establish this would require painstaking statistical work," Prasad and Mandrola wrote.

Could Allard's Case Be Vaccine-Related?

Given that Allard died of a brain tumor, it's unlikely his death had anything to do with COVID vaccination. There is absolutely no evidence linking cancer to the vaccines.

That being said, an increase in cancer deaths could be the result of lockdowns.

According to the American Cancer Society, many Americans' unwillingness or inability to go out and see a doctor may have caused a disruption in cancer screenings and preventative treatment. Some cases may have been left undiagnosed and untreated until after the pandemic, possibly resulting in an increase in deaths.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.