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Patrick Joseph White: CDC suspect's fake photos surface hours after Emory shooting - Fact check
Patrick Joseph White was identified as the 30-year-old man who opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters
Patrick Joseph White was identified as the 30-year-old man who opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters at Emory Point in Atlanta on Friday. Soon after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation named the shooter, social media users shared photos of a man, claiming he was White. However, authorities have not shared any image of the suspect, and all claims are false.
Officials confirmed that White fatally shot DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, who was responding to the active shooter alert near the Emory University campus. The shooter fired at the CDC building. Many employees posted photos of bullet holes and damage from the scene. Bullet casings were found outside a CVS pharmacy.
CNN cited law enforcement sources to report that the suspect's father reached out to authorities and said he ‘believed’ his son was ‘suicidal’. AP reported that the father also identified his son as the shooter and added that his son had been upset over the death of his dog and seemed depressed because of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said Saturday.
“We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” his statement said.
Patrick Joseph White's ‘fake’ photo surfaces
Meanwhile, a social media user posted a fake photo of Patrick Joseph White. Elon Musk-led xAI's bot Grok and other users fact-checked the claim. Authorities are yet to release the suspect's images.
The photo that went viral is of Deion Patterson, the suspect in the Midtown Atlanta shooting case. “This photo is not Patrick Joseph White, but is of Deion Patterson. So now you know this account is not credible 👇” one person fact-checked the claim on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
