CDC shooter believed COVID-19 vaccine made him suicidal, his father tells police

A Georgia man who opened hearth on the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, taking pictures dozens of rounds into the sprawling advanced and killing a police officer, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a regulation enforcement official informed The Associated Press on Saturday (August 9, 2025).

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 (August 8, 2025) afternoon, the official mentioned. He was armed with 5 weapons, together with no less than one lengthy gun, the official mentioned, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t authorised to publicly talk about the investigation.

DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded whereas responding.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose scepticism of vaccines has been a cornerstone of his profession, voiced help for CDC workers Saturday (August 9, 2025). But some laid-off CDC workers mentioned Mr. Kennedy shares duty for the violence and will resign.

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 potential shooter, the regulation enforcement official informed AP. The father mentioned his son had been upset over the demise of the son’s canine, and he had additionally turn into fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine, in line with the official. The household lives in Kennesaw, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb about 40km northwest of CDC headquarters.

A voicemail left at a telephone quantity listed publicly for White’s household wasn’t returned Saturday (August 9, 2025).

The taking pictures left gaping bullet holes in home windows throughout the CDC campus, the place 1000’s work on important illness analysis. Employees huddled below lockdown for hours whereas investigators gathered proof. Staff was inspired to work at home Monday (August 11, 2025) or take go away.

At least 4 CDC buildings have been hit, Director Susan Monarez mentioned on X.

Sam Atkins, who lives in Stone Mountain, mentioned outdoors the CVS pharmacy on Saturday (August 9, 2025) that gun violence looks like “a fact of life” now. “This is an everyday thing that happens here in Georgia.”

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose,” Mr. Kennedy mentioned Saturday (August 9, 2025). “We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others.”

Some rejected the expressions of solidarity Mr. Kennedy made in a “Dear colleagues” e mail, and known as for his resignation.

“Kennedy is directly responsible for the villainization of CDC’s workforce through his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fuelled a climate of hostility and mistrust,” mentioned Fired But Fighting, a bunch of laid-off workers opposing adjustments to the CDC by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Under Mr. Kennedy, CDC has laid off practically 2,000 workers. Mr. Trump proposes slicing the company’s price range in half subsequent yr, shifting some CDC features into a brand new Administration for a Healthy America. Mr. Kennedy has a historical past as a frontrunner within the anti-vaccine motion, however he reached new prominence by spreading mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines. For instance, he known as it “criminal medical malpractice” to provide COVID-19 vaccines to youngsters.

Mr. Kennedy parlayed that focus right into a presidential bid and endorsement of Mr. Trump, resulting in Mr. Trump naming him secretary. Mr. Kennedy continues to undercut the scientific consensus for vaccines, ordering $500 million lower from vaccine improvement funding on Tuesday.

Fired But Fighting additionally known as for the resignation of Russell Vought, noting a video recorded earlier than Mr. Trump appointed him Office of Management and Budget director with orders to dismantle a lot of the federal authorities.

“We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” Mr. Vought mentioned within the video, obtained by ProPublica and the analysis group Documented. “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work, because they are increasingly viewed as the villains.”

A request for remark from Mr. Vought’s company wasn’t returned.

This taking pictures was the “physical embodiment of the narrative that has taken over, attacking science, and attacking our federal workers,” mentioned Sarah Boim, a former CDC communications staffer who was fired this yr throughout a wave of terminations.

A neighbour of White informed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 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 guy” whereas doing yard work and strolling canines for neighbours, however he would deliver up vaccines even in unrelated conversations.

“He was very unsettled, and he very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people.” Hoalst informed the Atlanta newspaper. “He emphatically believed that.”

But Hoalst mentioned she by no means believed White can be violent: “I had no idea he thought he would take it out on the CDC.”

Rose, 33, was a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, graduated from the police academy in March and “quickly earned the respect of his colleagues for his dedication, courage and professionalism,” DeKalb County mentioned.

“This evening, there is a wife without a husband. There are three children, one unborn, without a father,” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson mentioned.

Senior CDC management informed some workers Saturday (August 9, 2025) that they’d do a full safety evaluation following the taking pictures, in line with a convention name recording obtained by the AP.

One staffer mentioned individuals felt like “sitting ducks” Friday (August 8, 2025). Another requested whether or not directors had spoken with mR. Kennedy and if they might communicate to “the misinformation, the disinformation” that “caused this issue.”

It is evident CDC leaders worry workers might proceed to be focused. In a Saturday (August 9, 2025) e mail obtained by the AP, CDC’s safety workplace requested workers to scrape previous CDC parking decals off their autos. The workplace mentioned decals haven’t been required for a while.