CDC shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Georgia investigators say
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the man who fired more than 180 shots at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing a police officer.
Documents found in a search of the suspect’s home “expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said. White had written about wanting to make “the public aware of his discontent with the vaccine,” he said.
Patrick Joseph White, 30, also had recently verbalized thoughts of suicide, which led to law enforcement being contacted several weeks before the shooting, Hosey said.
The suspect’s family was fully cooperating with the investigation, authorities said at a Tuesday news briefing. White had no known criminal history, Hosey said.
Executing a search warrant at White's home, authorities recovered written documents that are being analyzed, and seized electronic devices that are undergoing a forensic examination, the agency said.
Investigators also recovered a total of five firearms, along with other critical evidence, the agency said. Hosey said White broke into a secured safe to get the weapons, including a gun that belonged to his father that he used in the attack.
“More than 500 shell casings have been recovered from the crime scene,” the GBI said in a statement Tuesday.
Officials are conducting a threat assessment to the CDC facility and making sure they notify officials of any threats.
