Patrick Joseph White’s house in Kennesaw.
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified Patrick Joseph White as the active shooter in an incident near Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Alleged shooter killed in CVS
What we know:
White died on Friday inside a CVS located at 1600 Clifton Road. Police have not released whether he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or if he was shot by officers.
Officials said White lived in Kennesaw.
Neighbors on alleged shooter
What they’re saying:
The GBI has not confirmed a motive for the shooting. However, one neighbor — who wished to remain anonymous — told FOX 5’s Kim Leoffler that White was upset over the COVID-19 vaccine That neighbor said the vaccine caused an illness.
Another neighbor told Leoffler that they would not have suspected White of doing something like this.
Joshua Shira said he occasionally saw White around the neighborhood and that White sometimes did work for his grandfather.
“I talked with him briefly now and again. He’d come by the house and be like, hey, your grandfather wants this done,” he said.
“Blowing leaves, cutting the grass, stuff like that,” Shira said. “He pretty much worked around this little area. He had a few, I guess, customers like around the neighborhood that he would go and do yard work for.”
Shira recalled that he was home on Friday night when police arrived at the house where White lived with his family. He said about 10 police cars came to the neighborhood.
According to Shira, he believes the officers’ arrival may have been the first time White’s parents learned he was the suspect.
“I don’t think they knew until they showed up either. So I don’t know if they were in contact with them,” he said. “Just a wild scenario. It’s surreal that it was him.”
Shira said his own family didn’t know, either.
“I had zero clue and when I seen the cops, I just, I was wondering what was going on, and they finally talked to my dad, and I was like, there’s no way, Patrick, I feel like I known Patrick for most of my life, not really knowing him. But you know, like I said, seeing him around the neighborhood. Not the kind of person I would thought to do that.”
Shira said officers were still at the home when he went to bed around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Shooting at Emory University, CDC
The backstory:
Gunfire erupted inside the CVS at 1600 Clifton Road, directly across from the main entrance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s main campus, around 4:50 p.m. on Friday.
During the incident, the suspect fired multiple rounds at the CDC building, breaking windows, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said.
The CDC, Emory University, and Emory University Hospital were quickly placed on lockdown, along with several nearby smaller schools and daycares.
Schierbaum said officers from multiple agencies rushed to the scene and found the shooter on the second floor of the CVS. During the confrontation, a DeKalb County police officer was struck by one of the many bullets fired by the suspect.
That officer, identified as David Rose, died from his injuries.
Officer David Rose (DeKalb County Police Department)
Police said White was armed with a long gun, and authorities recovered three additional 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.
Police said the situation was contained by 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now leading the case, with assistance from the Atlanta Police Department’s Complex Case Squad and the FBI.
The Source: Information in this article came from FOX 5’s Kim Leoffler speaking with neighbors of the alleged shooter. Past reporting from FOX 5 was also used, which you can find linked above.