Officer fatally shot in "active shooter incident" near Emory campus, CDC
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A U.S Marshal is seen near the CDC headquarters on Clifton Road in Atlanta during an active shooter incident on Aug 8, 2025. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
A police officer was fatally shot while responding to an "active shooter" incident near Emory University's Atlanta campus and the CDC that also left the gunman dead late Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The latest: DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said the officer "received gunfire and lost his life" while responding to a report of an active shooter in the area of 1600 Clifton Road. No civilians were harmed.
- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the officer as David Rose with the DeKalb County Police Department. They also identified the suspect as Patrick Joseph White, 30, of Kennesaw.
Atlanta Police and Mayor Andre Dickens said at a news conference Friday that officers could hear gunfire from inside the CVS building near the intersection of Clifton Road and CDC Parkway when they arrived.
- Police engaged the shooter, said Atlanta Police Department Chief Darin Schierbaum, and found him on the second floor of the CVS building.
- Schierbaum said authorities don't know if the shooter was struck by police gunfire or if the wound is self-inflicted. "This was an active shooter incident," Dickens said.
- Schierbaum said the nearby CDC campus received "multiple rounds into their buildings" but police "are not aware of any injury that occurred to anyone on that location."
- Police also declined to comment on the shooter's potential motive.
Driving the news: Reports of an active shooter came in around 4:50pm, Schierbaum said.
- APD and Emory University posted on social media that an active shooter situation was unfolding and urged people to shelter in place or avoid the area.
Police later said the incident "involved a single shooter, who is now deceased," according to the department's social media post.
- At around 6:30pm, the university said the shelter in place has been lifted.
- Dickens asked people to avoid the area to allow Atlanta police to continue their investigation.
The shooting happened as 92 children were in a daycare on CDC's campus, Dickens said. None were harmed.
- "We ask that while things are safe, that you don't drive in that part of campus because we need to make sure that the investigation goes through without any obstruction," Dickens said.
What they're saying: Dickens also addressed the "men and women that work at the CDC."
- "We know that you've had a tough go of it in the past year," he said, "and my heart goes out to you as uncertainty surrounds your occupation and you being citizens of Atlanta, that means something to me. We are with you, we stand with you."
"I'm praying for the officer who was injured, and all students and faculty," U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said in a post on X. "I am devastated that our community is facing yet another tragedy of gun violence."
- Gov. Brian Kemp compared the officer's action to six soldiers who subdued a gunman at Fort Stewart, according to a post on X.
- "Twice this week, deranged criminals have targeted innocent Georgians. Each time, brave first responders rushed toward the danger to subdue the shooter and save lives, reminding us of just how crucial they are."