ATLANTA — A deadly shooting erupted outside the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters on Friday, sending shockwaves through one of America’s most prominent public health institutions and the neighboring Emory University campus. By the end of the chaos, a DeKalb County police officer and the suspected gunman were dead.
The incident began in the late morning when a man armed with a long gun opened fire near the CDC’s Roybal Campus, shattering windows across at least four agency buildings. Director Susan Monarez confirmed the damage, calling the assault “an attack on our Roybal Campus.” Images shared by employees showed multiple bullet-pocked windows—visual proof of just how close the violence came to thousands of scientists and staff working on critical disease research.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the shooter was found dead on the second floor of a building across the street from the CDC. Authorities recovered three additional firearms at the scene. It remains unclear whether the gunman’s death was self-inflicted or the result of police gunfire. His motive is still unknown.
The officer killed was identified as David Rose, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who had graduated from the DeKalb Police Academy just this March. DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson delivered a somber statement: “This evening, there is a wife without a husband. There are three children, one unborn, without a father.”
Witnesses described the terrifying moments as gunfire rang out. Brandy Giraldo, chief operating officer of nearby restaurant The General Muir, said it “sounded like fireworks going off, one right after the other.” She and her staff locked down inside, watching as frightened pedestrians ran past.
For some, the ordeal was even more personal. Anurag Mehta and his wife raced toward their 3-year-old son’s preschool near the CDC but were blocked from reaching him during the lockdown. “I was thinking that when I left for work this morning, was that the last time I saw my son?” Mehta said. Hours later, he learned the boy was safe.
No CDC employees or visitors were physically harmed, but Monarez announced that the agency will shift to remote work on Monday to allow for a full security assessment before reopening offices.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens praised the bravery of first responders and confirmed the swift response helped prevent further casualties. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp condemned the attack, noting it was the second major shooting in the state that week, following a separate incident at Fort Stewart.
The CDC campus and Emory University sit in a normally quiet, tree-lined area of northeast Atlanta, but on Friday, warning sirens and armed officers filled the streets. As investigators piece together what led to the attack, the community is left mourning a fallen officer—and reckoning with how close the violence came to striking at the heart of a vital public health institution.