GUNMAN’S CDC ASSAULT AIMED AT ANTI-VACCINE MESSAGE

Wed 13 August 2025:

On August 8, Patrick Joseph White, a 30-year-old man, opened fire at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, aiming to protest COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. authorities reported on Tuesday.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said that documents found at White’s home “expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations” and that he wanted to make “the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine”.

Hosey added that White had recently expressed thoughts of suicide, with a neighbour telling local media he had claimed his depression was connected to the vaccine.

According to investigators, White died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the day of the attack. He fired more than 180 shots with a long gun, fatally shooting a police officer at the scene.

Since the shooting, critics have slammed President Donald Trump and his allies for creating an environment that fuels vaccine scepticism and misinformation.

“This tragedy was not random and it compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured,” a union representing CDC employees, AFGE Local 2883, said in a statement on Monday.

It called on the administration to take a “clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation”.

“Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails,” the union said.

Investigators said they had recovered five firearms related to the attack, with more than 500 shell casings recovered from the crime scene.

The shooting broke about 150 windows across the CDC campus, with bullets piercing “blast-resistant” windows as workers remained pinned inside.

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A track record of misinformation

In 2020, during the final year of his first term, former President Trump was a major source of COVID-19 misinformation, contributing to nearly 38% of false narratives, according to a 2021 Cornell University study.

He promoted unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine and downplayed the pandemic’s severity, despite over 1.2 million U.S. deaths. In his second term, starting January 2025, critics argue Trump continues to undermine vaccines and medical research by nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy recently cut hundreds of millions in mRNA vaccine research funding, a move experts warn could hinder advancements against other pathogens, while making unsupported claims about vaccine efficacy.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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