Officer killed in shooting at the CDC originally from Massachusetts

ATLANTA, GA — The police officer killed in Friday’s deadly shooting at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was originally from Massachusetts.

David Rose was killed when the gunman opened fire around 5:00 p.m. Monday, hitting several buildings on the CDC campus, according to the New York Times.

The DeKalb County Police Department says Rose also served four years in Afghanistan before graduating from the police academy, back in March.

He leaves behind his wife and two children, with a third expected later this year.

Police say the shooter, 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, took his own life and think he may have targeted the CDC out of a belief that the COVID-19 vaccine made him suicidal.

The shooter was stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a nearby pharmacy and opening fire late Friday afternoon, a law enforcement official has told the AP. The official wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The 30-year-old man, Patrick Joseph White, later died, but authorities haven’t said whether he was killed by police or killed himself.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the CDC campus on Monday. CDC security pointed out broken windows across multiple buildings, including the main guard booth, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statement.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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