On Friday afternoon, a tragic event unfolded near the CDC headquarters and Emory University in Atlanta as a shooting claimed the life of a local police officer and the suspected assailant. FOX 5 Atlanta reports that the suspect, identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw, was killed during the incident.
Officer David Rose, 33, a recent graduate of the DeKalb Police Academy and former U.S. Marine, was responding to the situation when he was fatally shot; he is survived by his pregnant wife and two children. The area around the shooting saw extensive law enforcement activity with a coordinated response from the ATF, FBI, and local police departments, creating a complex crime scene that is expected to require a lengthy investigation, slowing the return to normalcy unfolding across the emptied avenues as the local authorities and assisting agencies secured and combed through the aftermath.
According to KGNS News, WANF shared comments from a neighbor who described White as being "against vaccines — especially the COVID-19 vaccine, which he believed made him sick." Although there is no official statement on the motive, there is speculation that the shooter, who was armed with a long gun and additional firearms found at the scene, may have targeted the CDC headquarters.
Susan Monarez, CDC Director, confirmed that at least four CDC buildings sustained damage from gunfire, as evidenced by photos of bullet-pocked windows circulated by employees, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. While Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum stated the shooter was located and died on the second floor of a building, the mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, alluded to the notion that White "is a known person that may have some interest in certain things," though he refrained from elaborate specifics pending thorough investigation outcomes.
Subsequently, Emory University addressed public concern by announcing an increase in campus police presence over the weekend, aimed at reassuring their community and restoring order in the wake of the violence that impeded the daily life for over 90 children and numerous CDC employees temporarily stranded.
