Man Who Fired Shots at CDC Expressed ‘Discontent’ With COVID-19 Vaccines: Officials

The man who opened fire at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Aug. 8 had documents in his home outlining his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccines, officials said in an update on Aug. 12.

“A search warrant executed at the residence of the shooter revealed written documentation that expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Chris Hosey told a briefing.

Officials previously identified the gunman as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White.

When asked for more information on the documents, Hosey said later that “it was his making the public aware, in his words, of his discontent with the vaccines.”

The documents are still being examined by law enforcement, including the FBI. A GBI spokesperson declined to provide them.

It was known that White had perished, but the cause of death had not been released. Officials said Tuesday that White died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that he had recently talked about committing suicide, which resulted in law enforcement being contacted.

GBI personnel are working on talking with those officers to learn more about what happened.

The injuries that ultimately resulted in the death of David Rose, a DeKalb County police officer who rushed to the scene of the shootings, were caused by one of White’s weapons, according to preliminary testing, the GBI said.

Rose, 33, left behind a wife, who is pregnant, and two children, officials have said.

“His sacrifice will never be forgotten, and his commitment to protecting others is a profound testament to the very best of the law enforcement profession,” Hosey said.

The weapons that White used belonged to his father, according to officials. They were in a safe that White, who did not have a known criminal history, broke into.

The family is cooperating with law enforcement.

More than 500 casings were recovered from the scene, a building near the CDC campus and Emory University. Bullets struck four CDC buildings.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday visited the CDC’s headquarters and toured some of the damage, the Department of Health and Human Services said. He was accompanied by Jim O’Neill, the department’s deputy secretary, and CDC Director Susan Monarez.

“I walked through the damage—shattered windows, broken doors, and a guard booth riddled with bullets,” Kennedy wrote on X. Several photos he posted showed windows with cracks.

Kennedy later met with the police chief of DeKalb County and Rose’s widow and expressed condolences over Rose’s death.

“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of everyone at CDC,” Monarez said in a statement. “We are actively coordinating with federal, state, and local partners to fully investigate the shooter and this tragic crime.”

The American Federation of Government Employees Local 2883, a union that represents CDC workers, said in a statement that the shooting “compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured,” referencing reports that White was motivated by opposition to COVID-19 vaccines.

The union called for a “clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation” from the leaders of the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as for letting staffers work remotely until the windows and buildings are fixed and secured.