Authorities have identified the man who opened fire at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta on Friday as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White from Kennesaw, Georgia. White and DeKalb County police officer David Rose were both killed during the incident, according to the Georgia bureau of investigation (GBI).
Rose was shot and killed before White was found dead on the second floor of a building across the street. Police have yet to confirm whether White died from police gunfire or a self-inflicted wound.The shooting began outside the CDC campus, with bullets striking windows across at least four buildings, CDC Director Susan Monarez said. Images shared by staff showed extensive damage to the site, where thousands work on vital disease research. White was armed with a long gun, and investigators recovered three more firearms at the scene. His motive remains unknown, with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens describing him as a “known person that may have, some interest in certain things”.Rose was a former Marine who served in Afghanistan and graduated from the police academy in March. “This evening, there is a wife without a husband. There are three children, one unborn, without a father,” said DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson. The GBI said the investigation will be lengthy, with extensive evidence to collect and numerous interviews under way.
How the CDC campus shooting unfolded
A shooting near Emory University’s Atlanta campus and the CDC left one person dead and a police officer injured on Friday. The incident took place around 4 pm at a CVS in the Emory Point area on Clifton Road, prompting the university to issue an “active shooter” alert urging people to “RUN, HIDE, FIGHT.” Police arrived minutes after the emergency call at 4.50 pm and found a critically injured DeKalb County officer, who was taken to hospital. The suspected gunman was discovered on the second floor of the building with gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.Authorities said the attacker fired at several windows of the CDC building during the rampage. Aerial images showed damaged police vehicles and a heavy security presence. Georgia governor Brian Kemp condemned the violence, linking it to another mass shooting earlier in the week, and praised first responders for their bravery.