CDC union condemns vaccine misinformation after shooter blamed COVID vaccine for depression

A Georgia man who wanted to send a message against COVID-19 vaccines fired over 180 times with a long gun at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's headquarters in Atlanta, killing a police officer, authorities said.

Patrick Joseph White, 30, who has been identified as the shooter in the attack late Friday at the CDC, tried to get into the complex but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire, authorities said. White took his own life during the attack.

A union representing CDC workers said the shooting was not random and “compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured.” It demanded that federal officials condemn vaccine misinformation, saying it puts scientists at risk.

Here's what to know about the shooting and the continuing investigation:

The barrage of gunfire unleashed by White left bullet marks in windows across the sprawling campus, police said. At least four CDC buildings were hit, CDC Director Susan Monarez said on the social platform X.

The bullets pierced “blast-resistant” windows, pinning employees down, and more than 500 shell casings were recovered, authorities said.

David Rose, a DeKalb County police officer, was fatally wounded while responding. Rose, a 33-year-old former Marine who served in Afghanistan, graduated from the police academy in March.

White was found on the second floor of a building across the street from the campus and died at the scene, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. His death was due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.

The American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2883, said the CDC and leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services must provide a “clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation.”

Such a public statement by federal officials is needed to help prevent violence against scientists, the union said.

“Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails,” it said in a statement.

Fired But Fighting, a group of laid-off CDC employees, has said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is directly responsible for the villainization of the workforce through “his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust.”

Public health leaders have been experiencing harassment and violence around the country since anti-vaccine vitriol took root during the pandemic. Kennedy has amplified the rhetoric, repeatedly making false and misleading statements about the safety of immunizations.

He told staffers over the weekend that “no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,” without addressing the impact of anti-vaccine rhetoric.

HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon said Monday in a statement that Kennedy “has unequivocally condemned the horrific attack and remains fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of CDC employees.” Nixon added that Rose's “sacrifice to protect the CDC on its darkest day will never be forgotten.”

Thousands of people who work on critical disease research are employed on the campus. The union said some staffers huddled in various buildings until late at night Friday, while more than 90 young children were locked down inside the CDC's Clifton School.

The union said CDC employees should not be required to immediately return to work after such a traumatic event.

It said windows and buildings should first be fixed and made “completely secure.” The union also called for “perimeter security on all campuses” until the investigation is completed and the results are shared with staffers.

White was living with his parents, and his father contacted police and identified his son as the possible shooter. The father said White was upset over the death of his dog and became fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine, according to law enforcement officials.

Authorities recovered documents and electronic devices at the family’s suburban Atlanta home that are being analyzed, as well as five firearms including a gun belonging to the father that was used in the attack, authorities said.

White did not have a key to his father's gun safe, Hosey said: “He broke into it.”

The documents recovered by authorities “expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations,” and White had written about wanting to make “the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine,” Hosey added.

White also recently verbalized thoughts of suicide, which led to law enforcement being contacted several weeks before the shooting, Hosey said. His father told police he blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

A neighbor told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that White “seemed like a good guy” but spoke with her multiple times in unrelated conversations about his distrust of COVID-19 vaccines.

“He was very unsettled, and he very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people,” Nancy Hoalst told the paper. “He emphatically believed that.”

But Hoalst said she never believed White would be violent: “I had no idea he thought he would take it out on the CDC.”

A bullet hole is visible in the door of a CVS pharmacy on Saturday, August 9, 2025, near where police say a man was shooting at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible on Sunday Aug. 10, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

This photo provided by Georgia Bureau of Investigations Patrick Joseph White. ( Georgia Bureau of Investigations via AP)

People leave flowers Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, at a makeshift memorial in honor of David Rose, the officer who was killed in the shooting at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)

The notable bullet marks on the windows of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters are visible from Clifton Rd, on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

A bullet hole is visible in the door of a CVS pharmacy on Saturday, August 9, 2025, near where police say a man was shooting at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

A lone bouquet sits outside a CVS pharmacy on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, near where police say a man was shooting at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

DETROIT (AP) — Tarik Skubal shed some tears, walking on a field that used to be his home turf as the team that traded him away paid tribute to the two-time Cy Young Award winner with a video montage before the first pitch.

“Luckily enough, I was able to make it to the tunnel before more happened,” Skubal said after allowing one run over six innings to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Friday night. “It’s tough. This is the place I’ve known my entire career since 2018.

"It’s special.”

Skubal was welcomed with cheers and a smattering of boos in his return to Detroit, pitching for the first time against the middling franchise that traded him to the two-time defending World Series champions.

When the visitors' lineup and Skubal were shown on the videoboard and his name was announced before the first pitch, most of the crowd at Comerica Park clapped for him while some jeered.

The Tigers showed highlights from his seven-season career with the team and posted a message at the end: Thank you, Tarik.

Skubal turned his head to the right a few times to watch the video as he walked from the bullpen beyond the left-field wall and toward the Dodgers' dugout with a white towel draped around his neck, which he used to wipe away sweat and tears.

He extended his right arm, holding his glove, toward his former teammates and used his left hand to pat his chest.

After the game, Skubal returned to the field to catch up with some of his former teammates.

Skubal did not appear to react to, or acknowledge, the fans before or during the game and didn't get a chance to do so as he exited the game because a pitching change was made after the sixth inning in a 1-all game. He struck out seven over six innings with 83 pitches, the fewest since he threw 74 in the season-opening game in March.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the plan was to limit Skubal's pitches after he threw 106 and 109 in his previous two starts.

In a crowd that had mixed emotions about Skubal’s return, a couple young fans had fitting outfits sporting white Tigers jerseys with 29 and Skubal on the back — and a blue Dodgers hat.

When the left-hander jogged to the mound to pitch for the first time as a visitor in the Motor City, booing fans were heard first followed by more cheers from fans in the stands.

His first pitch was delayed because he appeared to have trouble with his communication device.

After throwing a 96-mph fastball for a ball, Gleyber Torres hit Skubal's second pitch to center for a double and the crowd roared in unison.

Skubal settled in, striking out Hao-Yu Lee and All-Star Kevin McGonigle and getting All-Star Dillon Dingler to fly out.

“It’s weird to see him on the other side,” McGonigle said before the game.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said the team's familiarity with Skubal might not be helpful at the plate.

“If anybody knows him, it’s us,” Hinch said. “You can know everything about a pitcher, that doesn’t make it easy to hit.”

That was evident when Skubal retired 12 straight batters, including striking out the side in the third, before Eduardo Valencia led off the fifth with a double. Max Clark followed with a two-out triple in the inning to break a scoreless tie.

The 29-year-old Skubal was drafted by Detroit out of Seattle University in the ninth round of the 2018 draft and spent his entire career with the Tigers until they dealt him earlier this month.

Skubal said in July that it was his preference to finish the season with the Tigers and to compete for a World Series championship, which has eluded the franchise since 1984. The Tigers, though, thought it was wise to trade him before the deadline to acquire three minor league prospects instead of likely losing him in free agency.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Detroit Tigers during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal smiles in the dugout against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal claps as he walks to the dugout before the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)