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)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered in afternoon trading on Wall Street Tuesday as 2025 nudges closer to the finish line.

The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged. The benchmark index is still on track for a gain of more than 17% for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 78 points, or 0.2%, as of 2:55 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.

The biggest weights on the market remained technology companies, especially those focused on advancements for artificial intelligence.

Nvidia and Apple wobbled between small losses and breaking even. Both companies have outsized values that have a greater overall impact on the market’s broader direction.

On the winning side, Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 1.3%. The company is buying artificial intelligence startup Manus as it continues an aggressive push to amp up AI offerings across its platforms.

Markets were mixed in Asia and higher in Europe.

With just two trading days left before the year ends, most big investors have closed out their positions and volume has been thin. U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for New Year's day.

The more notable action was again in the commodities markets. Gold, silver and copper all resumed their ascent after steep declines a day earlier.

The price of gold rose 0.7% and silver prices gained 9.2% after slumping Monday when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals. Prices for both metals have surged in 2025 on a mix of economic worries and supply deficits.

Copper rose 3.6% and is up more 40% for the year on strong demand. The base metal is critical to global energy infrastructure, and demand is expected to keep growing as the development of artificial intelligence technology puts more of a strain on data centers and the energy grid.

Crude oil prices were relatively steady. The price of U.S. crude oil fell 0.1%. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.1%.

Treasury yields mostly rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.13% from 4.11% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, held steady at 3.45% from late Monday.

Overall, Treasury yields have fallen significantly through the year, partly because of the market's expectations for a shift in interest rate policy at the Fed. The central bank cut interest rates three times late in 2025, most recently at its meeting earlier in December.

The central bank has been dealing with a more complex economic picture. Consumer confidence has been weakening throughout the year as inflation squeezes consumers and businesses. The continued impact of a wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war threatens to add more fuel to inflation.

Inflation remains stubbornly high while the jobs market slows down. The Fed can cut interest rates to help the economy weather a slower jobs market. But, that could add more fuel to inflation that is still solidly above the Fed's 2% target. Hotter inflation could stunt economic growth.

The Fed has signaled more caution moving forward. Minutes from its December meeting reflect the divisions within the central bank as it deals with uncertainty about the threats facing the economy.

Wall Street is betting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.

Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Participants perform a traditional hand clap at the end of a ceremony to conclude the year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, delivers a speech as Hajime Moriyasu, left, the head coach of Japanese national soccer team, bows during a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year on the Tokyo Stock ExchangeTuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hajime Moriyasu, the head coach of Japanese national soccer team, rings the bell during a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Participants perform a traditional hand clap at the end of a ceremony to conclude the year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses before ringing the bell during a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A dealer watches computer monitors near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won are seen at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The screens show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)