The gunman who opened fire on the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, killing a police officer and rocking the medical research community, believed he suffered depression linked to the COVID-19 vaccine, multiple outlets reported.

Patrick Joseph White, 30, who was found dead after police say he opened fire Aug. 8 on CDC buildings near Emory University, had fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine and believed it caused him to become depressed and suicidal, The Associated Press, CNN and ABC News reported, citing law enforcement sources.

“He was very unsettled, and he very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people,” Nancy Hoalst, a neighbor who lived near White, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He emphatically believed that.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is heading the investigation into the shooting, declined to comment on a possible motive.

Authorities say White opened fire outside the CDC headquarters in downtown Atlanta, striking at least four buildings. DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, a veteran who graduated from the police academy in the spring, was fatally shot while responding to the shooting, officials said.

White's body was found on the second floor of a building across the street from the CDC campus. It remained unclear whether he was shot by law enforcement or whether his wounds were self-inflicted, authorities said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said its inquiry into the killings would "take an extended period of time."

CDC union says shooting was 'deliberate,' demands more security

A union representing CDC employees said in a statement that the shooting was not random, adding that it "compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured."

"The deliberate targeting of CDC through this violent act is deeply disturbing, completely unacceptable, and an attack on every public servant," said the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2883. "Early reports indicate the gunman was motivated by vaccine disinformation, which continues to pose a dangerous threat to public health and safety."

The union demanded flexible leave and remote-work options for CDC employees, as well as more perimeter security on all of the agency's campuses until a full investigation is completed.

RFK Jr., outspoken critic of COVID vaccines, issues statement on shooting

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who has criticized the COVID-19 vaccine and the CDC, said in a statement that he was "deeply saddened by the tragic shooting."

"We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others," Kennedy, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, posted on X.

Last week, Kennedy revealed his agency would be cutting funding to mRNA development, calling the vaccine technology used in the two most common COVID-19 shots "ineffective" and claiming it poses more risks than benefits.

Clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines involving tens of thousands of people have shown the vaccines are safe and effective, according to the CDC.

(This story was updated to add more information.)

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gunman in CDC shooting blamed depression on COVID vaccine: Reports

Reporting by Christopher Cann, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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