Late last week, I attended the memorial service for Officer David Rose, who was killed when a gunman, motivated by anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, attacked the CDCopens in a new tab or window on August 8. In this direct assault on a federal agency, the gunman fired 500 rounds at CDC -- nearly 200 of which struck six buildingsopens in a new tab or window, including the one where I work. In the 2 weeks since, national media coverage has been short-lived and President Trump has yet to make a statement.
But I still recall it as if it were yesterday.
Inside the Attack
At 4:48 p.m. that Friday, I heard a high-pitched banging sound behind me. Sitting at my desk, I turned to look out my window and saw nothing. I stepped into the hallway to see if others had noticed. Everything seemed calm. Then the sound came again.
I walked to the large, floor-to-ceiling windows facing the main road. Below, I saw daycare staff frantically ushering children inside. One woman was sprinting while carrying two toddlers.
A colleague approached me and asked, "Were those gunshots?" I replied, "I don't know, but the daycare thinks so." Another person near us thought it might be construction.
I kept scanning the ground outside, assuming that if there were a shooter, he'd be on the street. Then I realized it wasn't safe to be near the windows. I moved toward the center of the building.
A colleague walked towards me having just gotten off the elevator, smiling -- she hadn't heard anything. When she asked what was going on, I said, "gunshots."
Moments later, more deafening bangs. But they were different this time. They were hitting our building.
Metal. Glass. Shattering.
We dropped to the ground and scrambled to the opposite side of the building. Then we heard noises in the stairwell. We told everyone: "Get into offices. Lock the doors."
I joined three colleagues in a small office. With the sudden, unexpected strength you only hear about when people find themselves in true emergencies, we pushed a full bookshelf to block the door. We turned off the lights and sat silently on the floor.
I started messaging my team and our leadership group: "Shots fired -- possibly in the building. Take cover." Many had already left for the day.
Then I began texting my family: "I'm sheltering in place. Barricaded. There may be a shooter in the building."
We waited in silence until the gunfire stopped. Desperate for information, we scoured the news on our phones. Still no alerts from CDC. A colleague noticed Emory University had issued an active shooter alert, but it didn't mention the CDC. Social media said the shooter was on Emory's campus. This turned out to be false.
Finally, about 25 minutes later, at 5:13 PM, a colleague received a CDC alert: "ACTIVE SHOOTER reported near Roybal Campus. Roybal Campus is on lockdown. Get to safety ASAP."
I never received it. My personal phone -- registered with CDC -- remained silent. My work phone was still in my windowed office.
News reports began coming in. About an hour into our lockdown, we learned the shooter was dead. A DeKalb County police officer had been shot. Rumors of a second gunman spread. We stayed in place for another hour.
At around 6:45 p.m., we cautiously emerged. I returned to my office to grab my belongings -- and that's when I saw the damage. Broken windows. Bullet holes. The window I had stood by earlier -- while I contemplated whether we were under attack -- had been hit multiple times. At least two bullets had come through. They were on the floor, just outside my door.
Then, for the first time, we heard a PA announcement: "Stay where you are. Marshals will be coming floor by floor to escort you."
We waited again. Eventually, they reached us. Hands up, we exited. Around 15 heavily armed Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officers had arrived. We were told we couldn't leave yet -- we'd be escorted down in small groups and held in a conference room as the building was cleared.
I asked if there really was a second shooter. One SWAT member replied, "There are often reports like that. We take them seriously. That's why we're sweeping every floor." They also confirmed a bomb squad was assisting and that the fallen officer had died.
In the conference room, around 200 of us waited in the dark. Eventually, the lights came on, and the SWAT team provided updates. The entire campus had to be cleared. The FBI was en route and might want to interview us.
At 8:53 p.m., I received my first text from CDC on my personal phone: an accountability alert asking if I was safe. At 10:00 p.m., we were told we would be released soon -- but the daycare children would be evacuated first. There were reportedly 92 children who had to be transported to another location on busses and reunited with their parents. We were also told we may be questioned by the FBI because our building was one of the active crime scenes.
Then, around 11:00 p.m., our building was finally cleared. We were allowed to leave.
Fueled By Disinformation
According to news reportsopens in a new tab or window, the gunman was fueled by vaccine disinformation. Convinced that the COVID-19 vaccine caused his physical ailmentsopens in a new tab or window, he sought revenge. Though all available information indicates that he acted alone, his beliefs are not unique -- they are shared by countless others misled by rampant vaccine disinformation online.
This disinformation is now being amplified from the highest levels of the government. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent years fueling anti-vaccine sentiment. As chairman of Children's Health Defense, he led one of the most prominent anti-vaccine organizations in the world. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Children's Health Defense was identified as a leading sourceopens in a new tab or window of misinformation on social media, and since the pandemic, Kennedy has been identified as one of the "Disinformation Dozen,opens in a new tab or window" a group of anti-vaxxers responsible for almost two-thirds of digital misinformation about vaccines.
In his short time since taking office, Kennedy has dismantled key pillars of public health. He unilaterally withdrewopens in a new tab or window COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant women and children; fired all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practicesopens in a new tab or window, replacing them with several people known to hold anti-vaccine viewsopens in a new tab or window; and refused to strongly endorseopens in a new tab or window measles vaccination. Just days before the gunman attacked CDC, Kennedy canceled $500 millionopens in a new tab or window in mRNA vaccine research, citing debunked safety concernsopens in a new tab or window and expressing skepticism about efficacyopens in a new tab or window.
In a matter of months, our health "leaders" have left a trail of chaos and a crippled public health infrastructure. Public health will continue to be under attack until this situation changes. Kennedy is not fit to lead HHS. The highest levels of government have remained silent. For all of our safety, this cannot go on.
THEY WERE THE LUCKY ONES....MANY YEARS AGO I READ THE FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF THE COLO.CENTENNIAL THEATER SHOOTING, AN OFFICER WAS DESPERATELY LOADING VICTIMS INTO HIS SQUAD CAR ,AS MANY AS HE COULD (AMBULANCES WERE DOING THE SAME)...AS HE DROVE AWAY HE DESCRIBER ED HOW HE COULD HEAR THE SLOOSHING OF BLOOD IN THE BACK OF THE
SQUAD CAR.....THAT IMAGE HAS NEVER BEEN ERASED FROM MY BRAIN.....UNTIL U LIVE IT, I DARE U TO SAY THAT THE NRA/LA PIERRIE
R NOT MURDERS....THIS CDC SCENARIO IS JUST ONE OF THOUSANDS ACROSS THE NATION,EVERY DAY 365.....WE R INTENTIONALLY
ALLOWING GENOCIDE....YA, I KNOW THE PHRASE, IT IS NOT THE GUN THAT'S THE PROBLEM.....U R CORRECT, IT IS THE LEADERS
WHO CAN BE BOUGHT OFF......AND PS POST ABOUT OTHER LOBBYISTS DOING THE SAME THING IS MORE THAN ASININE,IT IS INTENTIONALLY LOOKING THE OTHER WAY.....THAT IS COMPLACENCE IN MY BOOK...I AM NOT SINGLING OUT PS, I AM STATED THE MINDSET IS OF THE CONSERVATIVES/.PRO GUN LAWS R ABHORRENT
JUST FOR THE RECORD I AM NOT AN ADVOCATE FOR VACCINES.....THE MOST RECENT ONES HAVE BEEN ''WALKED THRU' AND ADEQUATE TRIALS HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED....''TRUST NO ONE'...A MOTTO FROM ''X-FILES'......OUR GOV. CAN NOT BE TRUSTED...
EVEN MORE SO...NOW