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The gunman in a fatal attack on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took his own life after trying to leave the building from where he fired fire, according to law enforcement agencies with first-hand knowledge of the investigation.
Investigators believe 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White ran out of some of his ammunition as he tried to leave the CVS drugstore across from the CDC’s main entrance, but the door was locked and not opened after firing several rounds.
Police previously said White was shot and died on the second floor of the CVS store after a tense lockdown stretched over the night. Investigators had not said whether the shooting came from the officer or the gunman himself.
At one point during the lockdown, officers from the Emory University police station fired fire at him using an issued .45 caliber handgun, but sources say it is not clear whether White was injured.
US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the CDC office in Atlanta on Monday.
The secretary investigated the damages to the CDC headquarters and met with the agency’s staff, security and law enforcement agencies, sources said.
The attack was targeted and intentional, CDC leader told staff
Over the weekend, about 800 rattle staff at the CDC joined the massive, rushing Zoom call, with over 40 bullets shaking through the office windows and trying to understand the trauma they endured as they stumbled through at least four buildings wandering just above the cubicle walls.
But Friday’s episode of violence is the latest unsettling new chapter in a turbulent era for the CDC. Authorities have not announced the motive for the shooting, but law enforcement sources say the suspect may have targeted the CDC more than the health concerns that condemned the Covid-19 vaccine.
One of the world’s leading health organizations, the CDC is tasked with protecting the health of Americans. But it fired during the Second Trump administration as conspiracy theory continues to plague vaccines that are believed to have stopped the spread of the global pandemic.
The attack on the CDC office was targeted and intentional, a CDC leader told staff over the phone. Staff may hear that their work has been targeted as a possible motivation for the shooter, leadership added.
Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer, admitted that the terrorist staff who had experienced it had, saying “this happened” whether they were in the building or not.
He told leaders that many people work at the government agency’s National Center for Vaccination and Respiratory Diseases. The attack was carried out by a shooter who had been reaching out to help with mental health for weeks prior to the incident.
It is unclear who the suspect, identified as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, was reaching out to. Investigations are underway that led to the shooting.
Filming began just before 5pm at Emory Point CVS Drugstore on Clifton Road, directly from the CDC’s main entrance.
Gunman – What appeared to be a surgical mask and armed with two backpacks filled with two handguns, a rifle, a shotgun and ammunition, was fired at at least four CDC buildings.
There were at least 40 bullets The CDC leader said in a call Saturday with holes in two buildings and several holes in the third building. The building has many of the CDC’s non-love work.
“This wasn’t a floating bullet,” one leader said over the phone, sharing an update from the authorities. CNN obtained copies of staff notes from meetings shared in a large employee group chat.
A CDC employee said he felt like a “sitting duck” on a Saturday phone call.
Photos viewed by CNN, taken from inside one CDC building, depict a bullet hole in a window and a crushed glass in the floor. The image shows a round of ammunition flying just above the cubicle in the office where employees sit.
DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose pulled up when the gunman fired at the CDC complex. According to law enforcement sources, the shooter directed his purpose from the CDC complex to officers.
Rose, 33, was shot and killed and later died in hospital. He was two married fathers, the other father, and Rose would have been working for a year next month.
At the CDC office, employees said the situation could have been much worse.
“It’s a miracle that no one was killed here,” a CDC employee told CNN.
Aliki Pappas Weakland, who works for CDC, recalled the kind of attack that began on a social media post on Saturday night.
“When the shooting began, I fell to the floor. The horror that grabbed me as the shooting continued in the stable stream for an endless 15 minutes,” she wrote. “My knees are rubbing and I’m raw across the floor with my colleagues while I scramble to find shelter.”
Weakland is the Associate Director of Policy, Planning and Communications in the CDC’s Preparation and Response Office, and coordinates the US preparation and response to public health emergencies such as natural disasters and pandemics.
She denounced what she called “the year of slanderous 2018 in American politics,” but she and her colleagues vowed to continue their work.
“I’m struggling. I’m struggling with words. I’m struggling with emotions. I’m struggling with understanding. But in my struggle, I’m full of pride,” she said. “After raw the floor with pride and fear, I’m once again taller with friends and colleagues doing everything we can for greater benefits.”
The shooting took place amid a slash of vaccine misinformation and CDC funds
After talking to the suspect’s family, police are operating under the hypothesis that they condemned the Covid-19 vaccine illness, believing he was ill or believed he was ill, law enforcement officials told CNN.
White’s neighbor told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he “looked like a good guy,” but regularly raised distrust about the Covid-19 vaccine in the conversation.
“He was very unstable and I had a very deep belief that the vaccine was hurting him and hurting other people,” Nancy Hallst told the Atlanta Newspaper. “He emphasized that.”
However, Horst said she never believed White was violent. “I never thought he would take it out at the CDC,” she told the paper.
Investigators discovered drug therapy used for schizophrenia at White’s home after a warrant was provided after Friday’s shooting, a law enforcement source told CNN on Monday. Research shows that most schizophrenia patients are not prone to violence.
The shooting occurred the same week as US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It is a longtime critic of Covid vaccination with a history of spreading vaccine misinformation, and announced the cancellation of a $5 billion investment in mRNA projects.
HHS said it would cancel federal funding for nearly 20 mRNA vaccine projects.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at the CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the life of Officer David Rose,” Kennedy said Saturday. “No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others.”
“Public health workers show up with purpose every day, even in moments of sadness and uncertainty,” the health secretary continued. “We respect their service. We stand with them, and we continue to unite our mission to protect and improve the health of all Americans.”
When asked on Saturday’s phone call if Kennedy spoke to Kennedy about plans to deal with the shooting, CDC director Dr. Susan Monares said he was in contact with his office, according to a staff memo obtained by CNN.
Monares was also asked what the agency is going to do to deal with the disinformation, but the agency leader on the phone did not respond directly.
Monales informed CDC staff via email that it would operate remotely on Monday while the “security assessment” was being conducted. Employee support personnel are now available to workers, she said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said that CDC employees have “made a lot of progress over the past year,” referring to the “uncertainty” about the employment of CDC staff.
The agency has lost nearly a quarter of its staff since January. The 2026 Trump administration’s proposed budget would cut institutional funds by more than half.
Under the proposed reorganization, the CDC will lose additional programs. Some people will be transferred to a new administration for a healthy America, while others such as the National Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion Center will be completely eliminated.
“My heart is directed towards you,” Dickens said. “We’re with you. We’re standing with you. We’re doing everything we can to make sure we bring determination to the situation.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
