Man Blames Covid Vaccine For Depression, Fires 180 Bullets At US Centre

The man who attacked the CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Friday fired more than 180 shots into the campus and broke about 150 windows, with bullets piercing “blast-resistant” windows and spattering glass shards into numerous rooms, according to information circulated internally at the agency.

It may take weeks or even months to replace windows and clean up the damage, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel said.

A Georgia man who had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal opened fire late Friday, killing a police officer. No one at CDC was injured.

The shooter was stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a nearby pharmacy and opening fire late Friday afternoon, a law enforcement official has told the AP. The official wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The 30-year-old man, Mr Patrick Joseph White, later died, but authorities haven't said whether he was killed by police or killed himself.

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr toured the CDC campus on Monday. CDC security pointed out broken windows across multiple buildings, including the main guard booth, according to a US Department of Health and Human Services statement.

HHS Deputy Secretary Mr Jim O'Neill and CDC Director Ms Susan Monarez accompanied him, according to the statement.

Mr Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, where he met with the police chief. Later. He also met privately with the widow of the fallen officer, Mr David Rose.

Ms Monarez posted a statement on social media Friday night that said at least four CDC buildings were hit in the attack.

We at @CDCgov are heartbroken by today's attack on our Roybal Campus, which remains on lockdown as authorities investigate the shooting. A courageous local law enforcement officer gave his life, and another was injured, after a gunman opened fire on at least four CDC buildings.…

— CDC Director Susan Monarez (@CDCMonarez) August 9, 2025

The extent of the damage became clearer during a weekend CDC leadership meeting. Two CDC employees who were told about what was discussed at the meeting described details to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to reveal the information. Details were also in an agency memo seen by an AP reporter.

Building 21, which houses Ms Monarez's office, was hit by the largest number of bullets. CDC officials did not say if her office was hit.

CDC employees were advised to work from home this week.

Mr Kennedy issued a statement Saturday that said “no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” and that top federal health officials were ”actively supporting CDC staff."

We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC's Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose. We stand with his wife and three children and the entire CDC family.

We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while…

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 9, 2025

He did not speak to the media during his visit on Monday.

In a call with the media on Monday night, some unionized CDC employees said they are calling for more heavily armed guards, bulletproof glass, a better alert system, and more extensive evacuation planning for disabled employees and other vulnerable staff.

A retired CDC official, Mr Stephan Monroe, said he worried about the long-term impact the attack would have on young scientists' willingness to go to work for the government.

“I'm concerned that this is this is going to be a generational hit,” said Mr Monroe, speaking to a reporter near the corner where a poster had been set up in honor of Mr Rose.

Mr Kennedy was a leader in a national anti-vaccine movement before President Donald Trump selected him to oversee federal health agencies, and he has made false and misleading statements about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 shots and other vaccines.

Years of false rhetoric about vaccines and public health was bound to “take a toll on people's mental health,” and “leads to violence,” said Mr Tim Young, a CDC employee who retired in April.

Dr Jerome Adams, the US surgeon general during President Donald Trump's first administration, said Sunday that health leaders should appreciate the weight of their words.

“We have to understand people are listening,” Mr Adams told “Face the Nation” on CBS. “When you make claims that have been proven false time and time again about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, that can cause unintended consequences.”

CDC employees are now taking steps to become less visible, including not wearing their public health service uniform to work, said Ms Yolanda Jacobs, president of Local 2883 of the American Federation of Government Employees.

She recalled when CDC employees were happy to be approached by neighbors or others with public health questions. “Now it's at the point we're afraid to have those types of conversations with anybody, because we don't know who they are and we don't know what rhetoric they've ingested,” she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)