Why would someone turn the CDC into a shooting range? That’s the question rattling Atlanta, Georgia, after a police officer was killed Friday in an attack outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters. Authorities say a masked gunman armed with two handguns, a rifle, and a shotgun opened fire on multiple CDC buildings around 4:50 p.m., blaming the COVID-19 vaccine for an apparent illness. The suspect, a white male who died at the scene, also stormed into a CVS across from Georgia’s Emory University, forcing students into lockdown and endangering 92 children in a nearby daycare.
The attack began when witnesses saw the masked suspect approach the CDC’s Roybal Campus, set down a backpack, and open fire on the building, shattering windows and sending staff and children in the on-site daycare into lockdown. One CDC employee, who was leaving work at the time, recalled hearing at least seven shots as he phoned his wife to check on their children’s safety.
During the emergency, students were advised: “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.”
Three Children Lost a Father
The gunman, later identified as 30-year-old Patrick Rose White, targeted at least four CDC buildings before storming into a CVS across from Emory University, where he fatally shot DeKalb County police officer David Rose. Officer Rose, a devoted husband and father of two with a third child on the way, was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. The suspect was found dead on the CVS’s second floor from a fatal gunshot wound, though police have not confirmed whether it was self-inflicted.
The deadly CDC shooting drew swift and emotional reactions from officials, colleagues, and the broader Atlanta community. The CDC issued a statement expressing heartbreak over the attack and mourning the officer who “gave their life” to protect others. DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson delivered a somber tribute, emphasizing the profound loss suffered by Officer Rose’s family and calling for public support.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens both pledged solidarity with law enforcement, while acknowledging unanswered questions about the shooter’s motives and mental state. Social media images and videos of bullet-riddled windows, gunfire echoing across campus, and heavily armed police swarming the scene underscored the shock gripping the city in the wake of the tragedy.
