The sound of rapid gunfire echoed across the Emory University campus. Dozens of bullets shattered windows at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The smell of gunpowder hung in the air blocks away. Shell casings littered the ground.

The day after a gunman opened fire on the nation’s leading public health institution, authorities identified him as Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw. While officials would not comment on a motive, one neighbor said White had a mistrust of vaccines and believed they had made him ill.

“He was very unsettled, and he very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people,” said Nancy Hoalst, who lives directly across the street from the White family.

Hoalst said White raised the topic, even during conversations that were entirely un

See Full Page