As investigators work to uncover the motive behind yesterday’s deadly shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, grieving parents, community leaders and activists gathered on Saturday afternoon.
Unity in the Community: Stop the Gun Violence rally was organized by Bishop LC Wheat of Operation Push Too and Jimmy Hill, the man whose son Jimmy Atchison was killed by former Atlanta Police Officer Sung Kim in 2019, at Central Holiness Church in Peoplestown.
Hosted by Minister Anthony Johnson, the rally drew pastors from the church, Jay Hall from Operation Push Too, leaders from the Vine City NPU-L and Betty Battle, who founded the organization GRIEVE after her son Michael Maddox was killed by police over 30 years ago.
Tekesia Shields from Mothers Against Gang Violence, L.A. Pink from Street Groomers, Gerald Rose from the New Order Human Rights Organization and a representative from the Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction were also there to discuss ways to reduce violence in Atlanta communities.
Jimmy Hill (seated far right) gathered people for a conversation about gun violence at Central Holiness Church in Peoplestown. (Madeline Thigpen/Capital B Atlanta)
In recent weeks, Atlanta officials had been touting the success they’ve had over the past year reducing homicides by 32% and shootings by 20% in the city. But several recent shootings in communities across the city has many calling for answers.
There have been 57 homicides in Atlanta so far in 2025. Last year at this time, there had been 76, and by this time in 2022, there had been 92.
“We still have work to do,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters after a mass shooting in Sweet Auburn July 28 capped off a week of record violence. “Anger, conflict resolution, and access to guns by individuals that should not have them is still a matter that we all need to address.”
READ MORE: DA Doesn’t Appeal Judge’s Decision to Drop Charges Against Cop Who Killed Jimmy Atchison
Hill said he had been trying to have an event at the King Center last month but after getting rained out a few times Bishop Wheat reached out to Minister Johnson who suggested they gather at the church.
“I had a vision about the gun violence in the community and the police gun violence,” Hill told Capital B Atlanta. “Because somebody’s got to stand when others are sitting, somebody got to speak out when others are silent. I’ve seen too many mothers crying. I’ve seen too many families in pain. I’ve seen too many parents burying their children, instead of the children burying the parents. So I knew it was just time to do something.”
CDC Shooting Takes Life of Officer and Suspect
Friday, police departments across the metro Atlanta area responded swiftly to the area of Emory University and the CDC after reports of shots fired.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw on Saturday as the suspect who opened fire on the CDC headquarters. According to reports outlining a possible motive, the 30-year-old may have harbored hatred towards vaccines.
One of the first officers to respond was DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose. The married father of two, with another on the way, was shot and later died at Emory University Hospital. Rose was one month away from marking one year on the job.
“He was committed to serving the community,” interim Police Chief Greg Padrick told reporters. “At this time we’re asking for the community’s prayers for his family, his friends, his loved ones and the entire DeKalb County Police Department family.”
White, who was reportedly armed with two handguns, a rifle, a shotgun and two backpacks filled with ammunition, was found dead on the second floor of a CVS store across from the main entrance to the CDC. Investigators are still trying to determine if is would was self-inflected or came from Rose.
FBI agents responds to a shooting near the campuses of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Emory University, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (Ben Hendren/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Mayor Andre Dickens told reporters the alleged shooter “is a known person that may have some interest in certain things that I can’t reiterate right now with any confidence until the investigation is fully conducted.”
Also not far from people’s mind was the shooting at Georgia’s Fort Stewart Army Base earlier this week, where five people were wounded. All are expected to recover.
According to CNN, Sgt. Quornelius Samentrio Radford is being held in pretrial confinement awaiting a charging decision by the Office of the Special Trial Counsel.
Looking for Solutions to Violence
After the mass shooting on Edgewood Avenue last week, where eleven people were injured 27-year-old Santos J. Wyatt was killed, left the Sweet Auburn neighborhood reeling there were increased calls for more violence intervention work and safety measures.
Dickens and Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum acknowledged at the press conference after the Edgewood shooting that more progress needs to be made in the fight against gun violence.
In response to increased pressure from the neighborhood planning unit, the city on Aug. 4 released its Coordinated Safety & Compliance Measures on Edgewood Avenue plan with a list of actions to address safety concerns and support local businesses in an area steeped in the rich history of the Civil Rights Movement.
READ MORE: Mass Shooting Highlights Need for More Violence Intervention Work
Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari also introduced legislation for the creation of the “Edgewood Corridor Public Safety Task Force” to partner with community and government officials to develop a plan to lower crime and increase public safety.
“This is a community-driven response, born out of a commitment to urgent action,” Bakhtiari posted on Instagram. “We’re working in close partnership with business, neighborhood associations, law enforcement agencies, and governmental entities to deter crime and enhance public safety along Edgewood Avenue, throughout Sweet Auburn and the Greater Old Fourth Ward neighborhoods. Our goal is simple but essential: A coordinated, long-term strategy that uplifts public safety without losing the spirit of what makes Sweet Auburn special.”
The proposed legislation heads to Dickens’ desk for final approval.
Police have reportedly identified four suspects in the mass shooting. No arrests have been made.
For Hill, today’s rally was meant to support all families impacted by violence including those touched by the CDC shooting.
“Keep the officer’s family in prayer, because there were kids out there and the shooter was shooting wildly,” Hill said. “And it’s very important to say, thankfully all officers aren’t bad officers. Nobody else may feel or people may get mad at me and upset me about that, but this officer risked his life to save some kids. And he did, so I really wanted to keep his family in prayer.”
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