An internal CDC email reveals that the Georgia man who shot at CDC buildings on Aug. 8 likely tried to enter the campus two days earlier. Security video suggests Patrick Joseph White attempted entry on Aug. 6 but was turned away. The email, viewed by The Associated Press, states that law enforcement believes it was White. White blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for his depression. He killed a police officer and fired over 180 shots before killing himself. No one at CDC was injured. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says its investigation is ongoing.
NEW YORK (AP) โ The Georgia man who shot at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention buildings on Aug. 8 apparently tried to enter the campus two days earlier but was turned away by security, according to an internal CDC email.
Security video indicates โa very high likelihoodโ that the 30-year-old shooter โ Patrick Joseph White โ tried to enter the campus on the late afternoon of Aug. 6, the email said.
โThe video evidence does not 100% confirm the personโs identityโ but law enforcement thinks it was White, according to the email sent to CDC employees on Thursday.
โThe probing of a site is a common practice for individuals planning to engage in violent acts,โ Jeff Williams of the CDC's security office wrote in the email. The Associated Press viewed a copy of the email, which was first reported on by Stat News.
White blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. On Aug. 8, he opened fire from a spot at a pharmacy across the street from CDC's main entrance. He killed a police officer and fired more than 180 shots into CDC buildings before killing himself. No one at CDC was injured.
Williams, in his email, said: โDue to our existing security protocols, the shooter did not attempt to enter campus on Friday, August 8, prior to the attack.โ
A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the investigation is active and ongoing.
"We have no further information to release at this time,โ said the spokesperson, Sara Lue.
___
AP reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Instituteโs Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
