The man who unleashed over 180 rounds with a rifle at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters had broken into a locked safe to access his father's weapons and wanted to make a statement against Covid-19 vaccines, authorities said on Tuesday.
Documents recovered from the home where Patrick Joseph White lived with his parents revealed "the shooter's discontent with COVID-19 vaccinations," Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said. The 30-year-old had written about his desire to "make the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine," according to Hosey. White also recently verbalized suicidal thoughts, prompting law enforcement to be contacted several weeks before the shooting.
Clear Motive but Tragic End
White died at the scene on Friday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after shooting and killing a police officer. When asked about threats fueled by misinformation about the CDC and its vaccine efforts, FBI Special Agent Paul Brown said Tuesday, "We haven't observed an increase, but we take any rhetoric that could incite or result in violence extremely seriously."
"Although we are tracking it, we are sensitive to it, we have not seen that uptick," said Brown, who leads the FBI's Atlanta division.
White's family was fully cooperating with the investigation, authorities said at Tuesday's news briefing. Hosey added that White had no prior criminal history.
Executing a search warrant at the family's home in Kennesaw, an Atlanta suburb, authorities said that they found written materials now under analysis and seized electronic devices for forensic analysis.
Investigators also recovered five weapons, including one owned by the suspect's father that was used in the shooting, Hosey stated.
According to Hosey, the suspect did not possess a key to the gun safe — "He forced it open," he said.
Shocking Revelations
Officials said White was first stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a nearby pharmacy, where he began firing from the sidewalk. The gunfire shattered "blast-resistant" windows across the campus, forcing employees to take cover. The GBI reported that over 500 shell casings were collected from the scene.
In the wake of the incident, CDC officials are analyzing campus security measures and ensuring that authorities are alerted to any potential new threats.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the CDC campus on Monday, joined by Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill and CDC Director Susan Monarez, according to a statement from the health agency.
"No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others," Kennedy said in a statement Saturday. It said top federal health officials are "actively supporting CDC staff."
Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department and later held a private meeting with the wife of the fallen officer.
Before being appointed by President Donald Trump to lead federal health agencies, Kennedy was a prominent figure in the national anti-vaccine movement and had made false and misleading claims about the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines and other immunizations.
