Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to reflect Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Monday visit to the site of the shooting and other measures the department said it's taking following the attack, as well as with a statement from the department's communications director.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees and other prominent public health figures are calling for leadership to take a stronger stance on vaccine misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric following Friday afternoon’s shooting at the agency’s Atlanta headquarters.
DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, 33, was killed responding to the attack and another police officer was injured, according to law enforcement officials and a statement from the agency.
Four CDC buildings were hit with dozens of bullets from the second floor of a building across the street from the CDC’s campus. CDC employees in the buildings sheltered in place during an hourslong lockdown but were not physically harmed during the attack. Many have described experiencing terror and trauma due to the attack.
The suspect, Patrick Joseph White, who died at the scene, was armed with five guns, including at least one long gun, and had reportedly tried to enter the campus but was turned away. The 30-year-old’s father contacted police to identify his son as the possible shooter, telling officials his son was in mental distress and had blamed COVID-19 vaccines for his and others’ illnesses.
CDC Director Susan Monarez, Ph.D., in a Friday evening statement, said the agency was “heartbroken” over the attack and that its “top priority is the safety and well-being of everyone at CDC.”
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a Saturday statement on social media, said the department stands with Rose’s family and CDC employees.
“We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today,” he wrote. “No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others. We are actively supporting CDC staff on the ground and across the agency. Public health workers show up every day with purpose—even in moments of grief and uncertainty.”
However, the attacker’s reported fixation on vaccine misinformation and early suggestions that the shooting was targeted have sparked frustration among CDC employees and others within the public health community, who say misinformation and politicized comments from the HHS secretary and others fuel such attacks.
During a large group call of CDC employees hosted by Monarez Saturday morning, which was reported on by multiple outlets, employees questioned the director on whether the agency had a plan for addressing “the misinformation that caused this issue.” They also asked about any planning related to their safety and questioned whether Monarez was discussing the issue with RFK Jr. (the meeting was held ahead of the secretary’s statement on the shooting), to which she reportedly gave indirect responses.
RFK Jr. is among the most prominent skeptics of COVID-19 vaccines, having spread falsehoods about its safety both before and after taking on the country’s top health role. He has described the COVID-19 vaccine as the “deadliest” and earlier that week had pulled hundreds of millions in federal funding for research into mRNA vaccines targeting COVID and other diseases. He has also pulled recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women to receive the shot and is moving forward on a plan to overhaul the government’s National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program on claims that it does not appropriately address harm from adverse events.
More broadly, the secretary has described the country’s public health apparatus as compromised by outside interests and willing to cover up harms. Specifically, he called the CDC's vaccine division a "fascist enterprise" and compared its alleged cover-ups of vaccine-related harms to those of the Catholic Church in relation to child sex abuse, according to NBC News reporting.
AFGE Local 2883, a union representing federal workers in Atlanta and nearby states, wrote in a statement that “this tragedy was not random and it compounds months of mistreatment, neglect and vilification that CDC staff have endured. The deliberate targeting of CDC through this violent act is deeply disturbing, completely unacceptable and an attack on every public servant.”
The union said it would be advocating for workplace flexibilities “for those who need time to process and heal” as well as access to mental health resources. CDC staff were told during Saturday’s group call that the agency would likely be open to administrative leave or other time off of the campus on a temporary basis, and on Monday HHS said that "most personnel assigned to [the attacked campus] are teleworking this week and additional safety and security measures are being put in place ahead of their return."
The union’s statement also called for “a clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation by CDC and HHS leadership” as well as congressional action “to end the reckless politicization of federal employees and hold leaders accountable for rhetoric that incites hostility and vilifies public servants.”
Fired but Fighting, a group describing itself as “a coalition of fired HHS employees and allies,” led their statement on the attack with calls for “the immediate resignation” of RFK Jr. for fueling “a climate of hostility and mistrust” as well as Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought—one of the architects of this year’s widespread federal workforce cuts who, prior to his appointment, described plans to vilify federal workers and “put them in trauma.”
Organizers of Fired but Fighting, current CDC employees and others held demonstrations Saturday denouncing the attack, supporting the agency and criticizing the secretary.
Jerome Adams, M.D., who served as surgeon general during the first Trump administration, is another critic of the secretary. In social media posts and an op-ed published in Stat, he pointed to the 18-hour delay before RFK Jr. released a statement—which was preceded by photos of him fishing—and said he had personally heard from CDC employees during the gap who felt abandoned by leadership.
“A leader’s response to crises defines them,” Adams wrote on X. “RFK’s rhetoric lit the match, his policies poured gasoline and he went fishing while public health burned. America deserves leaders who unite and prioritize science and safety.”
Megan Ranney, M.D., dean of the Yale School of Public Health, whose own public health research has focused on firearm violence prevention, said that “the assault was the natural consequence of people demonizing other people, and of people demonizing public health. The online incitement and (often) falsehoods have real consequences. When an entire sector is actively dehumanized, yelled at and threatened, the verbal threats are bound to spill over into physical harm had some point.”
Ranney added that the suspect “was clearly sick” and in need of support but that “people who are experiencing a crisis, like he was, should not have access to firearms.”
HHS, in a Monday afternoon statement, said RFK visited the headquarters today, where he, Monarez and HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill were guided by security to view where the buildings were struck by gunfire. RFK also met with the DeKalb County Police Department and Rose's widow, HHS said.
Andrew Nixon, HHS' communications director, condemned the criticisms of RFK in a follow-up statement sent to Fierce Healthcare. He said the secretary had "unequivocally condemned the horrific attack," is "fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of CDC employees" and had given condolences to Rose's family and loved ones.
"This is a time to stand in solidarity with our public health workforce, not a moment for the media to exploit a tragedy for political gain," Nixon said.