Content Warning: This article contains references to gun violence.
The Atlanta Police Department (APD) issued an alert stating that there is no active threat at 6:43 p.m. following an active shootout between an unknown assailant and police at Emory Point and near the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The incident involved a single shooter, who is now deceased,” APD wrote in a statement on X.
The shooter’s identity remains unknown, but Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens confirmed that he was a white male during a press conference near the scene.
A DeKalb County police officer was killed during the response to the shooting. Shortly after he was injured, first responders transported the officer to Emory University Hospital, where the officer died, according to 11Alive.
At a separate press conference, DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson and DeKalb County Police Department Chief Greg Padrick confirmed the officer’s death. They did not disclose his identity. The officer is survived by his pregnant wife and two other children.
A DeKalb County press officer stated that the officer was on the scene responding to the active shooter threat. 11Alive reported that the officer was the first on the scene.
“He was committed to serving the community,” Padrick said. “At this time, we are asking for the community’s prayers for his family, his friends, his loved ones, and the entire DeKalb County Police Department family.”
Padrick said that further information about the deceased officer will be released “in the coming days.”
The City of Atlanta and APD spoke with outgoing Emory University President Gregory Fenves about the shooting, according to Dickens.
Emory Police Department (EPD) Chief Burt Buchtinec sent a university-wide email on Friday evening to inform community members that Emory Point remains “an active crime scene” and instruct them to avoid the area until EPD issues an all-clear.
“Multiple law enforcement agencies and the Emory Police Department are still working to verify facts related to today’s active shooter incident at Emory Point, an apartment and retail complex adjacent to our Atlanta campus,” Buchtinec wrote.
Dickens and APD Chief Darin Schierbaum held a press conference near the scene of the shooting at 7:39 p.m. Dickens confirmed that there were no civilian casualties during the emergency and that police believe there was a single shooter.
At 4:50 p.m., an Atlanta 911 center received a call regarding the shooting and law enforcement arrived “very quickly” after the initial information, according to Schierbaum.
Emory University sent a message to community members at 5:01 p.m., issuing a shelter-in-place order due to an active shooter threat at Emory Point. The message instructed people to “RUN, HIDE, FIGHT” and avoid the area. 11Alive confirmed that shots were fired on the scene during the station’s live coverage.
Emory University’s campus remained under a shelter-in-place order for approximately an hour and 45 minutes while various law enforcement agencies responded to the scene.
When the shooter was found by law enforcement on the second floor of the building that houses the CVS pharmacy, he was already hit by gunfire. According to Schierbaum, it is unknown if his injuries were self-inflicted or from an officer, according to Schierbaum. He said it was unclear if the shooter was located in the Emory Point apartment complex when he was found.
During the conference, Dickens shared that 92 children were present at the CDC daycare during the shooting and would be shortly reunited with their parents at the nearby Clifton School. Dickens added that no children were injured during the emergency.
Police suspect the shooter’s motive was allegedly related to the CDC and an illness following the COVID-19 vaccine after speaking with the shooter's family, according to CNN. Schierbaum could not confirm this theory at the press conference on Friday.
Multiple rounds of gunfire struck a building on the CDC’s campus.
X user @GAFollowers shared a photo of bullet holes in CDC building windows at 6:19 p.m. and other photos are circulating the internet.
Another shooting occurred earlier this week at Fort Stewart, which is about four hours outside of Atlanta. The shooter, an army sergeant, injured five soldiers with gunfire before he was neutralized. Dickens stated during the press conference that the shooting at Emory Point is indicative of the broader issue of gun violence in the United States.
“Mass shootings and active shooter scenarios should not become the norm. We have a number of individuals in this country that have access to high-power weapons,” Dickens said. “We have to put an end to that in our society.”
APD, DeKalb County Police Department, EPD, the Atlanta unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) all responded to the scene.
“I want to commend the men and women of law enforcement from all across this region,” Schierbaum said. “When this community needed them, no one shirked from the danger and every officer from multiple jurisdictions responded and immediately moved to end this threat.”
GBI and APD will be leading the investigation into the shooting, according to NBC News.
APD advised on X that people continue to avoid Emory Point as law enforcement clears the area.
If you or someone you know is struggling in the aftermath of gun violence, you can reach Emory’s Counseling and Psychological Services at (404) 727-7450 or https://counseling.emory.edu/ or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Disaster Distress hotline 24/7 at +1 (800) 985-5990.
Correction (08/08/25 at 10:51 p.m.): A previous version of this article stated that APD issued an "all-clear" alert. In fact, APD issued a statement sharing that there was no active threat in the Emory Point area. The article has been updated to reflect this.
Ellie Fivas (she/her) (26C) is from Cleveland, Tenn., and is majoring in political science and history on the pre-law track. When she is not working for the Wheel, she works in prison education, leads a human rights club and works at the Emory Writing Center. In her free time, you can find her reading trashy romances and The New York Times, basking on the Quadrangle and doing crossword puzzles.
