Kennesaw, Georgia’s Patrick White opens fire at Emory University

Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw, Cobb County, Georgia, United States has died. He was 30.

White reportedly blamed the new coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. He had become fixated on the vaccine and had been upset over the death of his dog, according to his father.

Patrick White

At around 4:50 p.m. on August 8, 2025, White opened fire at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. At 5:11 p.m., the university issued an emergency alert about an active shooter.

At 6:29 p.m., it was confirmed that White was dead. Atlanta Police Department officers found him dead on the second floor of the building that housed a CVS store inside the Atlanta campus of the university, which is adjacent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the city.

While White was firing at the CDC complex, DeKalb County police officer David Rose, 33, pulled up and was fatally shot by the gunman. The police officer was taken to the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta where he later died.

Prior to the shooting, White’s father called law enforcement to report that he believed his son was suicidal. The exact time of the call has yet to be confirmed.

“He is a known person that may have some interests in certain things that I can’t reiterate right know with any confidence until the investigation is fully conducted,” Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens said of White. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into the shooting.

Born in Atlanta, Dickens assumed office as the 59th mayor of the city on January 3, 2022. He turned 51 on June 17, 2025.

Emory University

Currently, there are more than 15,000 students enrolled at Emory University in undergraduate and graduate programs. The university was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church as Emory College in 1836.

Emory College was named after John Emory, a Methodist bishop born at Spaniard’s Neck in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, USA. In 1915, it was renamed Emory University. 

On August 1, 2020, Gregory Louis Fenves assumed office as the 21st president of the university. Born in Champaign, Illinois, USA, he turned 68 on March 1, 2025.