How she survived the CDC Atlanta shooting
The manager of the CVS across the street from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s main campus in Atlanta recounts the terrifying moments she and her coworkers decided to “run, fight, hide” during an active shooter situation. The gunman opened fire on the CDC buildings from the CVS and eventually entered the store.
ATLANTA – For the first time, a shift manager at a CVS targeted in Friday’s deadly shooting is sharing how she survived while the gunman took a position inside the store. It happened at Emory Point shopping center adjacent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention main campus and the main campus of Emory University.
CVS manager describes shooting
What they’re saying:
The manager, who asked to be identified only as Vonda, said the day began like any other. She was on the sales floor, leading her team and greeting customers.
“I love to see other people smiling. So I love working there. I love the people. I wouldn’t dare change it for anything in the world,” she said.
That changed in seconds when gunfire erupted.
“It’s just a whole lot. It’s a whole lot. I feel like I can’t breathe hard enough to consume enough air,” Vonda said.
Following the widely taught advice to “run, hide, fight,” she and another manager dropped behind the counter of the photo lab. “We were like statues. We became a part of the register,” she said. “We didn’t even have time to go to a closet, we immediately dropped.”
Bullet holes are seen in the doors of a CVS store following a shooting that left two dead, on August 9, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. On August 8, a gunman opened fire near the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control, killing a DeKalb County Poli
She remembers the deafening sound of rapid gunfire. “And all I hear now is the gunshots, the clips dropping, and me and my manager being on the floor the entire while,” she said. “I heard what I’m sure everyone heard, this loud tatatatatata.”
During a lull between bursts of shooting, Vonda quietly called 911. “That was my best time to talk because maybe he wouldn’t hear me talking to her on the phone.” She said the dispatcher did not realize the shooter was inside the CVS, so she texted a friend in law enforcement who directed first responders to the store. “I say he’s my hero. He really saved my life.”
She also credits DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, who was killed while running toward the gunfire to protect her and others.
Though grateful to be alive, Vonda said she is struggling with the aftermath. “I still hear the ringing, I still hear the sirens, they make me jump. It’s still in me I’m trying to ease it off but it’s all about family moving forward. I don’t see it no other way.”
The store was closed over the weekend but reopened on Monday.
CDC shooter’s mug shot released
The backstory:
On Tuesday, everyone got their first look at the alleged shooter, 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a driver’s license photo.
Patrick Joseph White. Courtesy of GBI
GBI Director Chris Hosey also revealed White had stolen his father’s guns from a locked safe and was motivated by opposition to COVID-19 vaccines. Documents were left at his parents’ Kennesaw home that “expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations” and a desire to make “the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine.”
White fired more than 180 shots from a long gun, according to the GBI, which recovered more than 500 shell casings from the scene. Investigators have not determined how many rounds were fired by White and how many by police. Hosey said forensic testing is still pending.
White, who had no known criminal history, had recently expressed suicidal thoughts. Police were contacted several weeks before the shooting. He died at the scene Friday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose.
Authorities said White broke into his father’s gun safe to obtain a firearm used in the attack. He then drove to the main campus of the CDC, located off of Clifton Road in Atlanta. A guard there stopped him, preventing him from gaining access. According to officials, White went across the street to the pharmacy’s parking lot and began firing rounds from the sidewalk towards the CDC building.
Officer David Rose (DeKalb County Police Department)
During the attack, DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose pulled up to the scene and attempted to approach White. At some point, he was shot and killed.
Bullets pierced “blast-resistant” windows across the CDC complex, forcing employees to shelter in place.
Authorities credited security measures with preventing mass casualties, including nearly 100 children who were in the childcare center at the time.
Some CDC employees and retirees blamed years of vaccine misinformation for creating a climate that could lead to violence.
White was found dead inside the store after the shooting from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Source: FOX 5’s Alli Levine spoke with a manager at the CVS where a gunman opened fire on the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. She did not want her full name used. Additional details come from previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting. FOX News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
