A 30-year-old man opened fire with a long gun at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, firing over 180 rounds in protest against COVID-19 vaccines, officials said Tuesday.
Patrick Joseph White broke into a locked gun safe at his parents’ home in Kennesaw, Georgia, to access his father’s firearms before carrying out the attack, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Chris Hosey said. Documents recovered from his home revealed his strong opposition to COVID-19 vaccines. White had written about wanting to make the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine.
Authorities said White recently expressed suicidal thoughts, prompting law enforcement to intervene weeks before the shooting. White died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing a responding police officer.
FBI Atlanta Special Agent Paul Brown said there has been no notable rise in threats based on misinformation about the CDC and vaccines but confirmed that authorities monitor such rhetoric closely.
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White had no prior criminal record, and his family is cooperating fully with investigators. Searches of his home yielded written materials and electronic devices undergoing forensic analysis.
Before opening fire at the CDC, White was stopped by security guards and then drove to a nearby pharmacy where he began shooting. The attack shattered blast-resistant windows and forced employees to take cover. Investigators recovered more than 500 shell casings at the scene.
Following the incident, CDC officials are reviewing campus security and remain alert to new threats. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has previously criticized COVID-19 vaccines, visited the CDC campus Monday to support staff and met the slain officer’s family.