A gunman opened fire outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday afternoon, killing a DeKalb County Police Department officer who was responding to the scene and pockmarking windows on four CDC buildings along Clifton Road. The shooter died at the scene.
The attack began at about 4:50 p.m., according to Atlanta police, when 911 calls started coming in from the area around the CDC’s Roybal Campus at 1600 Clifton Road. Within minutes, hundreds of CDC employees and Emory University students and staff were sheltering in place.
What happened
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a Friday-evening press conference that the shooter fired multiple rounds at the CDC building, breaking windows, and then turned his weapon on law enforcement as officers moved in.
Responding DeKalb County officers located the suspect on the second floor of the Emory Point CVS Pharmacy, across the street from the CDC campus, and exchanged gunfire with him. The shooter was later found dead from a gunshot wound that may have been self-inflicted, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
“Our hearts are broken for the DeKalb County Police Department, for Officer Rose’s family, and for every member of the CDC community who experienced terror in their own workplace on a Friday afternoon.”
— Dr. Susan Monarez, CDC Director, in a Friday night statement
Who was killed
David Rose, 33, was the DeKalb County Police Department officer who died in the attack. Rose joined the department in September 2024 and served the North-Central precinct. He was shot while responding to the scene, DeKalb County Police Chief Gregory Padrick said, and was pronounced dead at a hospital after being transported in critical condition.
Rose is survived by his wife, two children, and a third child his wife was pregnant with at the time of his death, DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said.
“He joined us less than a year ago because he wanted to serve,” Padrick said. “He paid for that choice with his life.”
Who was the shooter
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Saturday identified the shooter as Patrick Joseph White, 30, of Kennesaw, Georgia. Investigators say White may have been motivated by disgruntlement over vaccine side effects, though the full motive is still being investigated.
White had no prior criminal history that would have flagged him for law enforcement, GBI officials said, and investigators are still working to determine how he obtained the firearms used in the attack and how he arrived on the CDC campus.
A neighbor, speaking to reporters Saturday morning, described White as “very unsettled” in the weeks leading up to the attack.
What we know about the timeline
- 4:30 p.m.: Emory University officials first report an “active shooter” at the CVS on campus, with messages going out over the university’s emergency notification system.
- 4:50 p.m.: Atlanta Police receive 911 calls reporting gunfire at 1600 Clifton Road, in front of the CDC campus.
- 5:15 p.m.: Shelter-in-place order issued at Emory and lockdown begins at CDC headquarters.
- Evening hours: DeKalb County officers locate the shooter at the Emory Point CVS; gunfire is exchanged; shooter is found dead.
- Late evening: CDC lockdown lifted; GBI takes over the investigation.
- Saturday morning: GBI identifies the shooter as Patrick Joseph White, 30, of Kennesaw.
The campus in the moment
At the time of the shooting, 92 children were at a day care center on the CDC campus. All were unharmed, Schierbaum said. Four other people were transported to a hospital for stress and anxiety-related issues, the chief added.
CDC Director Monarez said in a Friday-night statement that she and the agency were “heartbroken by today’s attack on our Roybal Campus, which remains on lockdown as authorities investigate the shooting.” She said CDC security staff had performed exactly as trained during the lockdown.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr also released a statement Friday night: “We’re horrified by the news out of Emory University and praying for the safety of the entire campus community.”
What we don’t yet know
The GBI investigation, which is expected to take weeks, is focused on three questions:
- How did Patrick Joseph White acquire the weapons used in the attack?
- Was White’s motive specifically tied to CDC’s work on vaccines, as early reporting suggests?
- Did the shooter have any prior contact with the CDC campus or with any of its employees?
The GBI said Saturday it expects to release a more complete timeline and investigative summary later this week.
Samuel Okonkwo covers breaking news and public safety across metro Atlanta for WACN 21. Reach him at sokonkwo@wacn21.com.
