A bullet gap is seen within the door of a CVS pharmacy on Saturday, August 9, 2025, close to the place police say a person was taking pictures on the headquarters of the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention in Atlanta. (AP Photograph/Jeff Amy)
ATLANTA — A Georgia man who opened hearth on the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention headquarters, taking pictures dozens of rounds into the sprawling complicated and killing a police officer, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a legislation enforcement official informed The Related Press on Saturday.
The 30-year-old shooter additionally tried to get into the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta however was stopped by guards earlier than driving to a pharmacy throughout the road and opening hearth late Friday afternoon, the official mentioned. He was armed with 5 weapons, together with not less than one lengthy gun, the official mentioned, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to publicly focus on the investigation.
DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded whereas responding.
Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose skepticism of vaccines has been a cornerstone of his profession, voiced help for CDC staff Saturday. However some laid-off CDC staff mentioned Kennedy shares duty for the violence and may resign.
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CDC shooter recognized
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation named Patrick Joseph White because the shooter, however authorities haven’t mentioned whether or not he was killed by police or killed himself.
The suspect’s father contacted police and recognized his son because the attainable shooter, the legislation enforcement official informed AP. The daddy mentioned his son had been upset over the loss of life of the son’s canine, and he had additionally develop into fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine, based on the official. The household lives in Kennesaw, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of CDC headquarters.
A voicemail left at a telephone quantity listed publicly for White’s household wasn’t returned Saturday.
Staff on the CDC are shaken
The taking pictures left gaping bullet holes in home windows throughout the CDC campus, the place 1000’s work on essential illness analysis. Staff huddled beneath lockdown for hours whereas investigators gathered proof. Workers was inspired to work at home Monday or take depart.
Not less than 4 CDC buildings have been hit, Director Susan Monarez mentioned on X.
Sam Atkins, who lives in Stone Mountain, mentioned exterior the CVS pharmacy on Saturday that gun violence appears like “a reality of life” now. “That is an on a regular basis factor that occurs right here in Georgia.”
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Kennedy reaches out to employees
“We’re deeply saddened by the tragic taking pictures at CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the lifetime of officer David Rose,” Kennedy mentioned Saturday. “We all know how shaken our public well being colleagues really feel at the moment. Nobody ought to face violence whereas working to guard the well being of others.”
Some rejected the expressions of solidarity Kennedy made in a “Pricey colleagues” electronic mail, and known as for his resignation.
“Kennedy is instantly accountable for the villainization of CDC’s workforce by means of his steady lies about science and vaccine security, which have fueled a local weather of hostility and distrust,” mentioned Fired However Preventing, a gaggle of laid-off staff opposing modifications to the CDC by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Beneath Kennedy, CDC has laid off almost 2,000 staff. Trump proposes slicing the company’s price range in half subsequent 12 months, shifting some CDC capabilities into a brand new Administration for a Wholesome America. Kennedy has a historical past as a pacesetter within the anti-vaccine motion, however he reached new prominence by spreading mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines. For instance, he known as it “felony medical malpractice” to present COVID-19 vaccines to kids.
Kennedy parlayed that focus right into a presidential bid and endorsement of Trump, resulting in Trump naming him secretary. Kennedy continues to undercut the scientific consensus for vaccines, ordering $500 million minimize from vaccine improvement funding on Tuesday.
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Opponents say officers’ rhetoric contributed
Fired However Preventing additionally known as for the resignation of Russell Vought, noting a video recorded earlier than Trump appointed him Workplace of Administration and Funds director with orders to dismantle a lot of the federal authorities.
“We wish the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” Vought mentioned within the video, obtained by ProPublica and the analysis group Documented. “After they get up within the morning, we would like them to not need to go to work, as a result of they’re more and more seen because the villains.”
A request for remark from Vought’s company wasn’t returned.
This taking pictures was the “bodily embodiment of the narrative that has taken over, attacking science, and attacking our federal staff,” mentioned Sarah Boim, a former CDC communications staffer who was fired this 12 months throughout a wave of terminations.
A mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines
A neighbor of White informed The Atlanta Journal-Structure that White spoke along with her a number of instances about his mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines.
Nancy Hoalst, who lives on the identical avenue as White’s household, mentioned he appeared like a “good man” whereas doing yard work and strolling canine for neighbors, however he would convey up vaccines even in unrelated conversations.
“He was very unsettled, and he very deeply believed that vaccines harm him and have been hurting different individuals.” Hoalst informed the Atlanta newspaper. “He emphatically believed that.”
However Hoalst mentioned she by no means believed White could be violent: “I had no thought he thought he would take it out on the CDC.”
Slain officer leaves spouse and three youngsters
Rose, 33, was a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, graduated from the police academy in March and “rapidly earned the respect of his colleagues for his dedication, braveness and professionalism,” DeKalb County mentioned.
“This night, there’s a spouse and not using a husband. There are three kids, one unborn, and not using a father,” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson mentioned.
Rising safety considerations
Senior CDC management informed some employees Saturday that they might do a full safety evaluation following the taking pictures, based on a convention name recording obtained by the AP.
One staffer mentioned individuals felt like “sitting geese” Friday. One other requested whether or not directors had spoken with Kennedy and if they might converse to “the misinformation, the disinformation” that “triggered this difficulty.”
It’s clear CDC leaders concern staff might proceed to be focused. In a Saturday electronic mail obtained by the AP, CDC’s safety workplace requested staff to scrape previous CDC parking decals off their autos. The workplace mentioned decals haven’t been required for a while.
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