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Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta on Friday, one year after a shooting forced the facility to lockdown and resulted in the death of a police officer.
Kennedy attended the memorial event to honor the life of DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose. The event was open to employees of the agency, and he later held an in-person fireside chat.
“Today, we honored Officer David Rose’s extraordinary courage, service, and sacrifice by dedicating a memorial roadway and plaque in his memory, ensuring his legacy will continue to inspire all who enter the CDC campus,” Kennedy wrote in a social media post.
The shooting occurred Aug. 8, 2025, when a gunman opened fire outside the CDC building, killing Rose who was a responding officer. Officials said almost 500 shell casings were recovered, and about 200 struck six facilities on the agency’s campus.
Authorities said they found documentation in the alleged shooter Patrick Joseph White’s house, expressing his discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations.
Kennedy was not named in any documentation found, though he has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats for his decision-making regarding funding cuts for mRNA research and firing members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
He also received a letter from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that called for the secretary to fire Robert Malone from the ACIP. Malone, a Kennedy appointee, less than 48 hours after the attack, made a blog post that included images of guns and memes with the words “if you need a disarmed society to govern, you suck at governing.”
Malone is a former researcher who helped lay the groundwork for mRNA vaccine technology, but has since turned into a self-professed anti-vaxxer.
During the in-person fireside chat Kennedy hosted on the eve of the shooting, he allegedly praised the scientist’s work at the agency but also called for greater scrutiny of scientific findings.
“You can’t just trust a scientist, because scientists have biases, too,” he said, according to a transcript of his 43-minute chat obtained by The Washington Post. “They’re all hoarding their own data.”
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