Georgia authorities identify suspect in CDC shooting as a 30-year-old man from suburban Atlanta
LATEST UPDATE:
ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified the man who opened fire at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw, Georgia.
The GBI statement says White died and Officer David Rose with the DeKalb County Police Department was shot and killed during the shooting Friday.
The shooter opened fire outside the CDC headquarters, striking windows across the sprawling campus and killing the officer before he was found dead in a nearby building, authorities said. The attack prompted a massive law enforcement response to one of the nation’s most prominent public health institutions, but no one else was reported to be injured.
At least four CDC buildings were hit, Director Susan Monarez said in a post on X. Images shared by employees showed multiple agency buildings with bullet-pocked windows, underscoring the breadth of the damage to a site where thousands of scientists and staff work on critical disease research.
A CVS near the site of the shooting remained closed Saturday morning as an apparent bullet hole could be seen in the store’s door. A lone bouquet was placed outside the pharmacy.
Without naming White Friday night, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens described him as a “known person that may have, some interest in certain things.”
The gunman was found on the second floor of a building across the street from the CDC campus and died at the scene, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. He added Friday that “we do not know at this time whether that was from officers or if it was self-inflicted.”
The shooter was armed with a long gun, and authorities recovered three other firearms at the scene, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The gunman’s motive is still unknown this early in the investigation, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Friday.
A voicemail left at a phone number listed for White in public records was not immediately returned Saturday morning.
Rose, 33, was a former Marine who served in Afghanistan and graduated from the police academy in March and “quickly earned the respect of his colleagues for his dedication, courage and professionalism,” DeKalb County said in a statement.
“This evening, there is a wife without a husband. There are three children, one unborn, without a father,” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said.
The GBI is leading the investigation, and said Saturday that unraveling what happened could take time.
“There is extensive evidence to collect due to the complex scene,” the agency said in its statement. “Numerous interviews are being conducted. This investigation will take an extended period of time.”
THE LATEST:
ATLANTA (AP) — A man opened fire outside the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday, leaving bullet impacts in windows across the sprawling campus and killing a police officer before he was found dead in a nearby building, authorities said.
The attack, which unfolded near the neighboring Emory University campus, prompted a massive law enforcement response to one of the nation’s most prominent public health institutions, but no one else was reported to be injured.
Images shared by employees showed multiple CDC buildings with bullet-pocked windows, underscoring the breadth of the damage to a site where thousands of scientists and staff work on critical disease research.
The gunman was found on the second floor of a building across the street from the CDC campus and died at the scene, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. He added that “we do not know at this time whether that was from officers or if it was self-inflicted.”
The shooter was armed with a long gun, and authorities recovered three other firearms at the scene, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The gunman’s motive is still unknown this early in the investigation, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.
Police declined to name the officer who was killed, but DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson struck at the emotions of the loss.
“This evening, there is a wife without a husband. There are three children, one unborn, without a father,” Cochran-Johnson said.
When the shooting kicked off, staff at a nearby restaurant hunkered down and said they heard a string of gunshots. “It sounded like fireworks going off, one right after the other,” said Brandy Giraldo, the chief operating officer of The General Muir restaurant.
She then saw people running past her business. Two people paused to warn them of a shooter nearby.
When Anurag Mehta and his wife heard about the shooting, they tried to get to their 3-year-old son in a preschool near the CDC, but they were unable to approach.
“I was thinking that when I left for work this morning, was that the last time I saw my son?” said Mehta, who later learned his son was safe.
The CDC and Emory’s main campus are surrounded by affluent wooded neighborhoods in northeast Atlanta. All three institutions line up along Clifton Road. The area is hard to access, and notoriously traffic-choked, but on Friday few cars were in evidence as a warning siren blared.
Gov. Brian Kemp praised the efforts of first responders.
“Twice this week, deranged criminals have targeted innocent Georgians,” Kemp said, referring to the shooting at Fort Stewart as well as the CDC campus. “Each time, brave first responders rushed toward the danger to subdue the shooter and save lives, reminding us of just how crucial they are.”
UPDATE: According to the university, the shelter in place has been lifted.
ORIGINAL STORY:
ATLANTA (AP) — Police were responding Friday to a report of an active shooter on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, near the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Employees at the CDC said bullets struck the windows of several buildings on the federal agency’s campus.
Atlanta police did not immediately say whether anyone was injured in the shooting. The university warned students and others on the campus to shelter in place, writing “RUN, HIDE, FIGHT” in an alert on its website.
Police vehicles continued to arrive from metro Atlanta agencies as a warning siren continued to sound.
“We’re horrified by the news out of Emory University and praying for the safety of the entire campus community,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said.
Staff at a deli near campus locked the doors and hunkered down inside. Brandy Giraldo, General Muir’s chief operating officer, said staffers inside heard a string of gunshots.
“It sounded like fireworks going off, one right after the other,” she said.
