Shooter Fired 180 Times at CDC Buildings

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 months to replace windows and clean up the damage, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel said, per the AP. Police said a Georgia man who had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal opened fire Friday, killing a police officer. No one at the CDC was injured.

• Stopped first: The shooter was stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a nearby pharmacy and beginning the shooting late Friday afternoon, a law enforcement official told the AP. Patrick Joseph White, 30, later died, but authorities haven't said whether he was killed by police or killed himself.
• Kennedy visits: Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Atlanta and on Monday met with Director Susan Monarez. Security personnel led him through the CDC campus, pointing out shattered windows in the buildings, according to a statement from his department. Kennedy met with the widow of David Rose, police officer killed in the attack, per NBC News. He did not speak to the media during his visit.
• The gunfire: Monarez posted a statement on social media Friday night that said at least four CDC buildings were hit in the attack. The extent of the damage became more clear during a weekend CDC leadership meeting. Two employees who were told about what was discussed at the meeting conveyed details to the AP, and details were included in an agency memo seen by an AP reporter. Building 21, which houses Monarez's office, was hit by the largest number of bullets. CDC officials did not say if her office was hit.

• Kennedy's stances: The public official whose department oversees the CDC had filed a citizens petition in 2021 asking the FDA to revoke the authorization of the COVID vaccines. He described the shot as the "deadliest vaccine ever made." Days before the shooting, Kennedy canceled 22 contracts focused on developing mRNA vaccines. Dr. Jerome Adams, who was surgeon general during President Trump's first term, said Sunday that health officials should consider the effects of their words, per NBC. "We have to understand people are listening," Adams said on CBS' Face the Nation. "When you make claims that have been proven false time and time again about safety and efficacy of vaccines, that can cause unintended consequences."
• The effects: Stephan Monroe, a retired CDC official, said he worried about the long-term impact the attack would have on young scientists' willingness to work for the government. "I'm concerned that this is this is going to be a generational hit," said Monroe, speaking to a reporter near the corner where a poster had been set up in honor of Rose.