CDC gunman believed Covid-19 vaccine made him depressed and suicidal, official says
A man who killed a police officer when he opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta on Friday, blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.
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A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the father of gunman Patrick Joseph White had alerted police that his son was upset about the death of his dog and had become fixated on the Covid-19 vaccine.
He told officers that he believed his son was suicidal.
White had tried to enter the CDC's headquarters but was stopped by guards. He instead went to the CVS across the road, where he opened fire.
The police officer who was killed in the confrontation has been named as 33-year-old David Rose – a husband and father of two daughters who also had a son on the way.
The local police force received a call about an active shooter at about 4.50pm and arrived at the scene to find Rose critically injured.
Rose, who joined the DeKalb County police force in September last year, responded to reports of gunfire and was later rushed to the Emory University Hospital where he died of his injuries.
Greg Padrick, DeKalb County’s interim police chief, said he "was committed to serving the community" and requested prayers for "his family, his friends, his loved ones and the entire DeKalb county police department family."
White's scepticism about the vaccine was reiterated by several neighbours who told local media that he believed it was bad.
One told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "He very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people."
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has faced criticism from former CDC employees after he shared a statement of sympathy for the family of Rose in the aftermath of the shooting.
Read more: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed as Trump's Health Secretary despite controversial health views
He said: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose. We stand with his wife and three children and the entire CDC family."
Fired by Fighting, a group made up of CDC employees who were laid off, has said that Kennedy is 'directly responsible' for the 'villainization of CDC's workforce' by repeating claims of vaccine and science scepticism.
The group said that his 'continuous lies' have 'fuelled a climate of hostility and mistrust'.
They said in a statement: "We don’t need thoughts and prayers. We need an administration that does not villainize federal workers who are just trying to do their job.
"We need a HHS Secretary who does not promote misinformation about science and vaccines."