'I'm gonna shoot up the CDC' | Behind the Investigation

Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

'I'm gonna shoot up the CDC' | Behind the Investigation

Clean

Published on Aug 18, 2025, 6:45:43 PM
Total time: 00:35:53

Episode Description

Ken White and his wife were watching television, having just gotten a call from their son, Patrick, around 5 p.m.

“I asked him how he was doing,” Ken White recalled, “He said, ‘I’m gonna shoot up the CDC,’ and then he hung up.”

The couple changed their television channel to a local newscast, where Ken White saw the unmistakable image of his car at the scene of the Aug. 8, 2025, deadly shooting near the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control that would claim the life of a DeKalb County police officer.

The family’s horror would only increase as the hours unfolded. Law enforcement has determined Patrick Joseph White, 30, was the shooter in an incident that claimed the life of a DeKalb County police officer. Patrick White himself took his own life in the aftermath.

In an exclusive interview with Atlanta News First Investigative Reporter Andy Pierrotti, Ken White describes his family’s anguish over the death of their son and David Rose, the officer killed in the shooting.

More about Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First
Atlanta News First has the largest team of investigative reporters in the city. Now, in this series of podcasts, we take you behind the scenes of our most recent investigations.