The gunman who fired fired Friday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said he broke into his father’s safety and recovered five firearms at the scene.
Shotler Patrick Joseph White fired nearly 500 rounds while shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said at a press conference Tuesday. Most of the shell casings found at the scene came from a long gun, one of the weapons White had taken from his father, the GBI said.
After confirming that GBI director Chris Hossie died from a self-harmed gunshot wound, White confirmed in written documents recovered from his home that he expressed his dissatisfaction with the Covid-19 vaccine. White “wanted to make the public aware of his public’s distrust of the vaccine,” Hossie said.
Tuesday’s investigation update is the latest example of ongoing disruption at one of the world’s top health agencies more than five years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the CDC held a departmental meeting and staff wanted to get details of last week’s filming.
Instead, some listeners found that Cole lacked. No new information is shared, comments are disabled, preventing anyone from asking questions.
“It’s not that new in that meeting,” one CDC source explained, “for the heart, rather than the head.”
Here’s another thing we know:
Filming began on Friday at a direct CVS drugstore at the CDC’s main entrance before 5pm. DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose arrived when a white man was fired at the CDC complex. Investigators confirmed Rose was fatally shot by White on Tuesday.
None of the CDC was injured in the shooting.
Of the nearly 500 shots fired, around 200 shots attacked six CDC buildings on campus. The campus is located near Emory University, on the eastern edge of Atlanta.
Most of these shots were fired by long guns, investigators said. The Bureau of Alcohol, cigarettes, firearms and explosives determined that all firearms belong to White’s father.
All five firearms (a mixture of rifles, shotguns and handguns) have been recovered, Hossie said.
White had no known criminal history, Hossie told reporters Tuesday.
However, he “had a verbalized idea of suicide recently,” Hossie said, and law enforcement was contacted weeks before the shooting. It is unclear who reached out to law enforcement.
A law enforcement source with first-hand knowledge of the investigation said the gunman took his life after CNN attempted to leave CVS. Investigators believe White has exhausted some of his ammunition, but the door was locked and not opened after firing several rounds, law enforcement officials said.
CDC holds all hand meetings
The CDC’s entire agency meeting on Tuesday was pre-scheduled following confirmation by director Dr. Susan Monares, according to CDC staff who requested anonymity for fear of replication. However, staff noted that Friday’s shootings would clearly change content at the meeting.
Many CDC employees are looking for more information on how the shooter tried to access the campus and how he was blocked. They also want agency leadership to recognize the role that federal employees and Trump administration’s smears of vaccines have clearly played in the attack.
Tuesday’s meeting was short, lasting for about 17 minutes. Information shared by Monares and Jeff Williams, who head the Department of Safety, Security and Management, largely reiterated what is already known about the incident and widespread damage to the CDC building. Both Monares and Williams praised Rose.
The employee was supposed to hear the latest information on available mental health resources from acting chief operating officer Christa Capozzola, but she had a hard time connecting to the phone.
“They had a lot of technical challenges,” said one CDC source. “In their defense, a large portion of that team was rifed,” the source added, referring to a layoff of a massive cut of federal employees earlier this year. The CDC lost about a quarter of its staff.
“This was very confusing,” said the second CDC employee who heard the meeting. “All the chats are popping out about how bad and rude it was,” the employee explained a group message shared after the meeting.
CDC employees want to know why there were no previous announcements for cover and why they didn’t receive text alerts from the agency’s security system.
A second CDC staff member who listened to the phone said they wanted the agency leader to “be human and actually talk to us – allow questions.”
“Dr. Monales and the CDC leadership are focused on supporting staff during extremely difficult times, as evidenced by continuous direct involvement. Friday’s shooting is a traumatic event for agents, and leadership is committed to providing continuous resources for healing and recovery.
“This is a time of solidarity with our public health workforce and we hope that the media will respect the moment rather than misuse the tragedy and exacerbate the already tragic experiences of dedicated CDC staff,” he added.
The CDC fired during the second Trump administration. Conspiracy theory continues to plague vaccines that are believed to have stopped the spread of Covid-19. On Monday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – a longtime critic of Covid vaccination with a history of spreading vaccine misinformation – visited the CDC office.
Kennedy’s visit was to “send pacity to the family of police officer David Rose” and “providing support to all CDC employees who are part of the glowing star health agency around the world,” he said in an interview with Scripps News on Monday.
When asked what would be done to stop the spread of vaccine misinformation to prevent incidents like the shootings on Friday, Kennedy said he “don’t quite know this individual’s motivation.”
In an internal video sent to staff before Tuesday’s meeting, Monales said “science and public health should never be attacked.”
Monales looked emotional on the video as he pledged his support for CDC employees.
“My idea is that everyone is affected. I want you to know that your safety, happiness and your sense of security remains my number one priority,” Monales said. “Science and public health should never be under attack. What we do here is to protect lives. It’s to prevent suffering and build healthier communities. Violence will never undermine our resolve.”
Fix: Previous versions of this story headline incorrectly stated the number of rounds Shooter fired in the CDC.
Nadia Kounang of CNN contributed to this report.
