US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. flew to Atlanta on Monday, days after a shooting targeted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Our Channel 2 Action News at Noon cameras spotted a motorcade arriving at the CDC campus on Clifton Road. ABC News confirmed that Kennedy, whose department oversees the CDC, was inside the motorcade.
CDC workers are working remotely on Monday.
Channel 2 Action News learned Kennedy met with the director of the CDC just days after a gunman opened fire on the building.
On Friday, investigators said 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White opened fire on the CDC headquarters. White shot and killed DeKalb County Officer David Rose, who responded to the shooting. White was found dead with a gunshot wound at the CVS across the street. No one at the CDC or CVS was injured.
“We wanted to pay our respects to Officer Rose, who died protecting us,” CDC employee Rebecca Dahl told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington.
According to law enforcement and CDC officials, White believed the COVID-19 vaccine made him sick.
He fired into the CDC from the CVS while employees hid in fear.
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For years, there have been conspiracy theories about the vaccine and political hostility toward the CDC.
Kennedy Jr. released the following statement on Saturday:
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose. We stand with his wife and three children and the entire CDC family. We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others. We are actively supporting CDC staff on the ground and across the agency. Public health workers show up every day with purpose — even in moments of grief and uncertainty. We honor their service. We stand with them. And we remain united in our mission to protect and improve the health of every American."
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Joseph Courtney lives nearby and heard the gunfire. He believes the political rhetoric surrounding the vaccine is at fault.
“Propaganda that stirred people up to hate the CDC,” Courtney said.
Dahl says she places blame on RFK Jr.
“His actions and his prior words are what tell the story,” Dahl said.
As for the investigation, authorities are still working to confirm whether feelings about the vaccines fueled the shooting.
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