On August 8, 2025, the quiet of a summer morning at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Atlanta campus was shattered by a barrage of gunfire. Nearly 200 rounds struck four buildings, and the attack left DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose dead and a community of public health professionals reeling. As the investigation continues, the aftermath has exposed deep fissures within America’s public health system—fueled by layoffs, mounting harassment, and a contentious debate over vaccine safety and government trust.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Officer Rose, a 33-year-old former U.S. Marine and father of two (with a third child on the way), had only recently joined the force. He was killed while responding to reports of an active shooter outside the CDC’s Roybal campus. The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Joseph Patrick White, believed the COVID-19 vaccine had made him ill. White, who fired more than 200 bullets and left over 500 shell casings scattered across the CDC grounds, killed himself during a confrontation with police. Security footage later showed he had attempted to enter the CDC visitors center two days prior to the shooting, an act investigators believe was reconnaissance.
As the CDC and surrounding community mourned Officer Rose, the impact rippled far beyond the crime scene. On August 22, friends, family, and the public gathered at First Baptist Church Atlanta to honor Rose’s sacrifice. "Officer Rose dedicated his life to serving and protecting our community," said DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson. His death, and the circumstances surrounding it, have left his widow—pregnant with their third child—and his colleagues grappling with profound loss. Memorials have continued to grow outside the CDC, and multiple GoFundMe accounts have been established to support the Rose family.
But the trauma of that day has only been compounded by a wave of layoffs and internal turmoil at the CDC. As reported by STAT News, more than 600 CDC staff were let go in the days following the attack, part of a reduction in force approved by a federal judge earlier in the month. Entire branches in the Division of Global HIV and Tuberculosis were eliminated, including teams that had worked for decades to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. Maternal and child health services, oral health programs, and the CDC’s long-running Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS)—which for nearly two decades collected critical data to inform interventions—were also dismantled.
"The data we collected was catalytic," one researcher lamented to STAT News. "Overnight, that work is gone." The layoffs extended to injury prevention teams, including those who studied firearm-related deaths, concussions in young athletes, and fall prevention in older adults. "Injuries are a leading cause of death," a veteran scientist said. "Preventing them will result in fewer deaths. It's that simple. But our entire team was wiped away with a single letter." The suddenness and scale of these cuts have left many employees feeling isolated and disheartened. "It's been alienating and lonely," said a longtime worker. "People we'd worked with for decades became afraid to even talk to us, and we were just cut off."
Against this backdrop of grief and institutional upheaval, the CDC announced a new panel to review the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The panel is chaired by MIT professor Retsef Levi, an outspoken critic of the vaccines. Leadership framed the move as an effort to counter misinformation, but many employees see it as a concession to disinformation narratives that have fueled hostility against the agency. The panel’s creation has only deepened unease within an institution already under siege.
In the days after the shooting, CDC employees began receiving harassing phone calls. Callers taunted staff by asking, "Are you resilient?"—a reference to the agency’s own post-shooting messaging—before playing the sound of gunfire. These chilling acts of harassment underscore the climate of fear now permeating America’s public health agencies, a sentiment echoed by more than 750 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees who recently signed an unprecedented letter addressed to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and members of Congress.
The letter, reported by ABC News and BBC, demanded that Kennedy stop spreading misinformation that they say threatens both public health and the safety of federal workers. The signatories accused Kennedy—appointed Health Secretary earlier this year—of undermining the very institutions he now leads by dismissing or distorting scientific evidence, accusing federal agencies of corruption, and casting doubt on the effectiveness of vaccines. "As federal employees, we swore an oath to protect the health of the public," the letter states. "We cannot fulfill that oath while our own Secretary circulates misinformation that endangers lives, erodes public trust, and makes us targets of violence."
The employees set a deadline of September 2, 2025, for Kennedy to take three immediate actions: stop spreading inaccurate health information; publicly reaffirm the scientific integrity and mission of the CDC and other HHS agencies; and ensure the safety and security of all HHS employees, particularly in the wake of the Atlanta attack. Dr. Shiv Prasad, a scientific review officer at the National Institutes of Health and one of the signatories, told ABC News, "I think we are all potential targets now. The rhetoric has consequences."
Kennedy’s response has been measured. In a statement to ABC News, HHS said, "Secretary Kennedy is standing firmly with CDC employees—both on the ground and across every center—ensuring their safety and well-being remain a top priority." Kennedy himself visited Atlanta after the shooting, calling the CDC "a shining star among global health agencies" and vowing to support its mission. Yet critics within the agency remain skeptical. "Words are not enough," a senior public health official told DW. "He can’t praise the CDC on Tuesday and then undermine vaccines on Wednesday. That’s not leadership; it’s doublespeak."
The broader stakes are clear. The erosion of trust in public health institutions, accelerated by misinformation and political rhetoric, has left federal workers feeling vulnerable—not just to online harassment, but to real-world violence. As Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, warned in DW, "If the public believes health agencies are corrupt, they will ignore life-saving advice during the next pandemic."
As the CDC and the nation mourn Officer Rose and reckon with the fallout of the August 8 attack, the future of America’s public health infrastructure hangs in the balance—caught between the need for scientific integrity, the reality of political division, and the very real dangers faced by those on the front lines.
