A police officer killed by an active shooter in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday spent part of his childhood in Massachusetts, the New York Times reported.
The officer, David Rose, worked in the DeKalb County police department for 11 months before his death. On Friday, Rose was among the officers who responded to a CVS where a man was firing at the building that houses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When first responders arrived, the man, later identified as Patrick Joseph White, opened fire on police, according to a memorial page set up for Rose. Rose was hit and died of his injuries at Emory University Hospital. Another officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
White was found on the second floor of the CVS with a gunshot wound. It’s not clear if he was killed by police or if he took his own life.
Rose moved to Georgia from Massachusetts with his mother, Deveane Atkinson, as a child. Atkinson told The New York Times her son served in the Marines, then worked in the sheriff’s office before joining the police force.
Rose is survived by his wife, who is expecting, and two children.
What we know about the shooter
White’s father contacted police and identified his son as the possible shooter, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press. The father said his son had been upset over the death of the son’s dog, and he had also become fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the official. The family lives in Kennesaw, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb about 25 miles northwest of CDC headquarters.
A voicemail left by the AP at a phone number listed publicly for White’s family wasn’t returned Saturday.
The 30-year-old also tried to get into the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire late Friday afternoon, the official said. He was armed with five guns, including at least one long gun, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
