First things first: the attack by a lone, apparently mentally-ill man on the Centers for Disease Control was a repulsive act by someone with a warped, narcissistic way of dealing with the world.
The man who fired more than 180 shots with a long gun at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention broke into a locked safe to get his father’s weapons and wanted to send a message against COVID-19 vaccines, authorities said Tuesday.
Documents found in a search of the home where Patrick Joseph White lived with his parents “expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said.
Some of the staff had their own point of view:
Years of false rhetoric about vaccines and public health was bound to “take a toll on people’s mental health,” and “leads to violence,” said Tim Young, a CDC employee who retired in April.
And some of the staff didn't waste the crisis:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez sent a note to the company's more than 10,000 employees Tuesday afternoon, directly blaming the role of the promotion of misinformation in the deadly shooting at the CDC.
The note in part reads, "… the dangers of misinformation and its promulgation has now led to deadly consequences. I will work to restore trust in public health to those who have lost it- through science, evidence, and clarity of purpose. I will need your help."
Whatever his motive, the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before he could be apprehended - but not before killing DeKalb city policeman and former Marine David Rose:
Rest in peace Police Officer David Rose of the DeKalb County Police Department, Georgia, who was shot and killed on 8/8/25 while responding to an active shooter.
— Angel L Maysonet (@bigricanman) August 9, 2025
“The suspect was brandishing multiple guns, firing at the windows of the CDC building around 4:50 p.m. When law… pic.twitter.com/tN6W20l0eX
While much of the media coverage has focused on HHS Secretary Kennedy's controversial views on vaccines, Officer Rose deserves the coverage:
Officer Rose, 33, joined the DeKalb County Police Academy in September 2024 and graduated from the police academy in March of this year. He was assigned to the North Central Precinct. He quickly earned the respect of his colleagues for his dedication, courage, and professionalism.
Before joining DeKalb County Police, Officer Rose proudly served four years in the United States Marine Corps, including a deployment to Afghanistan. His life was defined by service—first to his country, and then to the people of DeKalb County.
Officer Rose leaves behind a wife, two young children, and a third child expected later this year, as well as his parents, siblings, extended family, and a department that considered him a brother.
Let's not let him be forgotten.
But this was the reaction that really caught my attention. It's Kelly Morrison, Minnesota Democrat representing the western suburbs of Minneapolis after a few years in the State Senate mostly spent pushing the most radical abortion legislation in America. She, like the entire Minnesota DFL, was entirely on board with the "Defund the Police" movement - which had broad approval from white female progressive, but was curb-stumped in the higher-crime precincts of Minneapolis when it came to a vote.
This was what she had to say:
This is not normal.
— Kelly Morrison (@KellyMorrisonMN) August 18, 2025
We cannot normalize this.
A law enforcement officer died in the line of duty when a gunman fired hundreds of bullets at a federal agency -- and the President of the United States has not said a single word about it. https://t.co/VHVfv4i20D
Just curious - when was the last time you saw a prominent Democrat express sympathy for a cop who wasn't dead, first?
