CDC Shooting: Georgia Man Fired Nearly 200 Shots, Broke 150 Windows
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The man who attacked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta on Friday fired more than 180 rounds into the campus, shattering about 150 windows. Bullets pierced "blast-resistant" glass, sending shards into numerous rooms, according to internal information circulated within the agency.
CDC personnel said it could take "weeks or even months" to replace the damaged windows and fully clean up the site.
Authorities identified the gunman as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, a Georgia man who had publicly blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. Late Friday afternoon, White opened fire, killing police officer David Rose. No one at the CDC was injured in the attack.
The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible on Sunday Aug. 10, 2025.
The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible on Sunday Aug. 10, 2025.
Associated Press
According to a law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, CDC security guards stopped the shooter before he drove to a nearby pharmacy and opened fire again. White later died, though authorities have not confirmed whether he was killed by police or took his own life.
On Monday, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the CDC campus, where security staff pointed out bullet damage across multiple buildings, including the main guard booth, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He was joined by HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill and CDC Director Susan Monarez.
Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, where he met with the police chief before holding a private meeting with Rose's widow.
Monarez posted on social media Friday night that "at least four CDC buildings" had been struck during the attack. Over the weekend, details of the damage became clearer during a CDC leadership meeting. Two employees familiar with the meeting's discussion told the Associated Press—on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly—that Building 21, where Monarez's office is located, sustained the most bullet strikes. CDC officials did not say whether her office itself had been hit.
An internal agency memo seen by an AP reporter confirmed those details. Employees were advised to work from home this week.
In a statement Saturday, Kennedy said, "No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others," adding that top federal health officials were "actively supporting CDC staff." He did not speak to the media during his Monday visit.
Former CDC official Stephan Monroe expressed concern about the long-term consequences for recruiting young scientists to public service. "I'm concerned that this is going to be a generational hit," Monroe said, speaking near a memorial poster for Officer Rose.
Kennedy has a long history as a leader in the national anti-vaccine movement. Before President Donald Trump appointed him to oversee federal health agencies, he made false and misleading claims about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 shots and other vaccines.
Tim Young, a former CDC employee who retired in April, said years of misinformation about vaccines and public health inevitably "take a toll on people's mental health" and "leads to violence."
Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as U.S. surgeon general during Trump's first administration, said on CBS' Face the Nation Sunday that health leaders must understand the power of their public statements. "We have to understand people are listening," Adams said. "When you make claims that have been proven false time and time again about safety and efficacy of vaccines, that can cause unintended consequences."
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Vaccine misinformation blamed for fatal CDC shooting
Georgia law enforcement officials confirmed during a Tuesday press conference that 500 shots were fired and about 200 rounds struck six different CDC buildings. Though no employees were hurt, DeKalb County police officer David Rose was fatally shot. The alleged shooter, Patrick White, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities said they found documentation in his house expressing his discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations. Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the content of the documents was more about making the public aware of his distrust of the vaccine, though no direct threats were made. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union called out vaccine misinformation for putting agency staffers at risk. In a statement following the shooting, AFGE Local 2884 demanded a 'clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation by CDC and HHS leadership.' 'Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails. This condemnation is necessary to help prevent violence against scientists that may be incited by such disinformation,' the organization said. Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who served during President Trump's first term, echoed these sentiments. In an op-ed for Stat, Adams said the shooting was a reflection of threats to public health workers brought on by a climate of 'misinformation, politicization, and inflammatory rhetoric.' Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Adams criticized for being slow to respond to the shooting, was not named by the AFGE, but has long spread vaccine misinformation. During an interview with Scripps News this week, he defended his decision to end funding for mRNA shots and reiterated his concerns about coronavirus vaccine injuries. When asked directly about a plan to quell misinformation and prevent something like the CDC shooting from happening again, Kennedy deflected any direct link. 'We don't know enough about what the motive was of this individual, but people can ask questions without being penalized,' Kennedy said, before criticizing the federal government's messaging about the coronavirus vaccine. Kennedy previously criticized CDC during his unsuccessful presidential campaign, calling it a 'cesspool of corruption' in a post on X, saying he would 'force the public health agencies to come clean about Covid vaccines.' During his Scripps interview, Kennedy sounded a different tone. 'They work in silence, saving us all and protecting our health. They should not be the targets of this kind of violence from anybody,' Kennedy said.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
CDC shooter had police contacts over suicide, used father's guns in attack: officials
The man accused of killing a police officer while shooting at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta on Friday had previously been reported to police for suicidal thoughts and launched the deadly attack with his father's weapons to send a message against COVID-19 vaccines, authorities said Tuesday. Patrick Joseph White, 30, is suspected of killing DeKalb County Police Department Officer David Rose, 33, shortly before 5 p.m., in an attack that saw him unload around 200 rounds into six CDC buildings. White's driver's license image was released publicly for the first time on Tuesday. Rose, who previously served as a Marine in Afghanistan and joined the DeKalb County Police Department in September 2024, was responding to the scene and died from gunshot wounds. Five firearms were recovered by law enforcement, mostly long guns, with more than 500 shell casings found at the scene, authorities said at a Tuesday press briefing. Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Chris Hosey said law enforcement made contact with White about mental health warning signs. "The shooter had no known criminal history. Evidence in this investigation indicates that the shooter had recently verbalized thoughts of suicide, which even led to law enforcement being contacted several weeks prior to the incident," Hosey said. He said investigators are getting with the law enforcement that made those contacts to find out the details, but did not provide further information. White died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Hosey said. White, who was from the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, had police called on him three different times about being suicidal in the past year, Fox Atlanta reported. In at least one of those calls, White's father told dispatchers that his son had gotten a gun from his father's locker. In a September 2024 call, White told police his health had declined after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and that his deteriorating condition had led to suicidal ideation. Officers said White stated he was in pain and had back surgery a decade ago. He claimed taking a gun from his father's locker was "only a cry for help." After that incident, White was taken to Kennestone Hospital but refused mental health treatment on subsequent calls, per the report. Two other calls took place in April and July of this year. Hosey said that for Friday's attack, White broke into his father's safe to get the guns, noting they had been locked away. "All indications in our investigation was that they were secure and that he forced his way into the safe that contained the weapons," said Hosey, adding that the suspect did not have a key to the gun safe: "He broke into it," Hosey said. Hosey said that during a search of his residence, authorities found documents expressing anger towards the COVID-19 vaccine. He said there were no direct threats made in the writing, but it was described as personal manifesto to "make the public aware" of his views. "A search warrant executed at the residence of the shooter revealed written documentation that expressed the shooter's discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations," Hosey said. "I would describe it as more of a public awareness. There was no direct threat... but it was his making the public aware, in his words, of his discontent with the vaccines itself," Hosey said in response to a reporter's follow-up question. Hosey said the materials are being reviewed by certified behavioral profilers and shared with the FBI. White had been stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street, where he opened fire from a sidewalk, authorities said. The bullets pierced "blast-resistant" windows across the campus, pinning employees down during the barrage. More than 500 shell casings have been recovered from the crime scene, the GBI said. In the aftermath, officials at the CDC are assessing the security of the campus and making sure they notify officials of any new threats. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the CDC campus on Monday, accompanied by Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill and CDC Director Susan Monarez, according to a health agency statement. Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, and later met privately with the slain officer's wife. Kenedy recently announced that the CDC will no longer recommend COVID‑19 vaccinations for healthy children or pregnant individuals and canceled 22 mRNA vaccine development contracts totaling roughly $500 million because he said the data showed that those vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
2 dead, 14 hospitalized after eating tainted sausage and turnip top sandwiches in Italy
Two people died and 14 others, including two teenagers, were hospitalized after eating sausage and turnip top paninis from a food truck in southwest Italy linked to the country's second toxic botulism outbreak in a month. Luigi di Sarno, 52, and Tamara D'Acunto, 45, died within two days of ingesting the tainted sandwiches. Another 14 people were hospitalized with food poisoning, The Telegraph reported. Luigi di Sarno, 52, was sent home from the hospital despite his apparent illness, his sister said. Facebook Advertisement Di Sarno, an artist, was sent home from the hospital even after complaining he wasn't feeling well and later died, his sister told the outlet. All of the victims ate sandwiches from a food truck near the town of Diamante in Calabria, which spans across the toe of Italy's boot, according to authorities investigating the botulism outbreak. They each ordered the same meal: a panini topped with grilled sausage and cime di rapa — or turnip tops in English, officials said. Advertisement Giuseppe Santonocito, the 33-year-old owner of the seized food truck, and his three employees who allegedly made the tainted paninis are under investigation. Officials also ordered a nationwide seizure of the panini, which was commercially produced, and are probing other products sold at the truck. Santonocito purchased the produce used in the paninis in late July, and only had enough to make 'six or seven' sandwiches before they ran out, his lawyer told the outlet. Tamara D'Acunto, 45, died shortly after eating a panini purchased from a food truck in southwest Italy. Advertisement 'He is psychologically devastated. He has worked for around nine years in the food sector and he is well respected. He is convinced that the contamination was already in the products that he served,' his lawyer said. Five doctors who treated the victims at two different hospitals are also being probed for apparently not making their diagnoses quickly enough, officials said. Botulism, a bacterial infection, is most commonly linked to food poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In extreme cases, it can cause muscle paralysis and even death. Advertisement In late July, another toxic botulism outbreak in Sardinia, an island west of Italy's mainland, left one woman dead after eating spoiled guacamole at a festival. Seven others, including an 11-year-old boy, were treated for food poisoning. Italy's Ministry of Health 'immediately activated all the health protocols' following the dual outbreaks to ensure 'that patients had timely access to life-saving antidote treatments,' according to the government agency.
