Killer who shot at US CDC offices believed Covid vaccine made him suicidal, father says
Patrick Joseph White was armed with five guns and tried to get into the health agency headquarters before being stopped by guards
A Georgia man who opened fire on the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters, shooting dozens of rounds into the sprawling complex and killing a police officer, had blamed the Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official said on Saturday.
The 30-year-old shooter also tried to get into the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire late Friday afternoon, the official said.
He was armed with five guns, including at least one long gun, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the investigation.
DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded while responding.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr, whose scepticism of vaccines has been a cornerstone of his career, voiced support for CDC employees on Saturday. But some laid-off CDC employees said Kennedy shared responsibility for the violence and should resign.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation named Patrick Joseph White as the shooter, but authorities have not said whether he was killed by police or killed himself.