ATLANTA — A gunman opened fire at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leaving a police officer dead.
The union representing CDC workers said that the shooting was not random and “compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC Staff have endured.”
Investigators have identified the alleged shooter as Patrick Joseph White, saying that he claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine made him depressed and suicidal, The Associated Press reported.
The 30-year-old man, from Kennesaw, Georgia, died in the incident, WSB reported. He was found on the second floor of a building across the street from the CDC.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said, “we do not know at this time whether that was from officers or if it was self-inflicted.”
The shooting also left DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose dead. The 33-year-old former Marine had graduated from the police academy in March. Leaders at the North Central Precinct, where he was assigned, said Rose “quickly earned the respect of his colleagues for his dedication, courage, and professionalism,” WSB reported.
Rose left behind a pregnant wife, two children, parents and siblings. A GoFundMe has been set up to help support his family.
The CDC was closed on Monday, with workers doing their jobs remotely. An all-staff meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
Elizabeth Soda, CDC employee, told WSB “I’m overwhelmed. I’m extremely grateful for the first responders, but I’m so heartbroken and so angry that we’re even in this position.”
Former federal employee Aryn Backus told WSB, “The gentleman who opened fire on the CDC had some really deeply held beliefs about a COVID-19 vaccine, beliefs we’ve heard our own Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy repeat over the last several years since before he was even in this position. We just want to shed light that those words have had consequences at this point, a police officer died heroically protecting the people at the CDC.”
Kennedy told staff on Saturday, “no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” the AP reported.
The American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2883, said the CDC and the Department and Health and Human Services must have a “clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation,” the AP reported. The union added, “Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails.”
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