{"id":33198,"date":"2026-08-08T20:58:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33198"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:58:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:58:54","slug":"rfk-jr-visits-cdc-office-in-atlanta-a-year-after-fatal-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33198","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. visits CDC office in Atlanta a year after fatal shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/RFK-Jr_071226_Weixel_Getty_Anna-Moneymaker.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n        <iframe id=\"instaread_iframe\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Audio Article\" style=\"display:block\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n    <\/p>\n<p><\/instaread-player><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cToday, we honored Officer David Rose\u2019s 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,\u201d Kennedy wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecKennedy\/status\/2085767626152669497?s=20\">social media post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said they <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/5449332-vaccine-misinformation-blamed-for-fatal-cdc-shooting\/\">found documentation<\/a> in the alleged shooter Patrick Joseph White\u2019s house, expressing his discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy was not named in any documentation found, though he has <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/5487009-kennedy-defends-vaccine-policy\/\">been criticized<\/a> by Republicans and Democrats for his decision-making regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/ck\/a?!&amp;&amp;p=d3a597e98dc61bdd7e87b5a4236c40ee94ce42b95c9287b397ae951881ca71c6JmltdHM9MTc4NjE0NzIwMA&amp;ptn=3&amp;ver=2&amp;hsh=4&amp;fclid=39691e48-b252-6eed-2f9c-09d5b3de6f59&amp;psq=funding+cut+to+mrna+research+thehill&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVoaWxsLmNvbS9uZXdzbGV0dGVycy9oZWFsdGhjYXJlLzU0NDIxODEtZXhwZXJ0cy1hbGFybWVkLW92ZXItbXJuYS1yZXNlYXJjaC1jdXRzLw\">funding cuts<\/a> for mRNA research and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/ck\/a?!&amp;&amp;p=ca244fecd2f0e67b2301d74480b0de26dea8c9f994c01823f40f95042faa3ae5JmltdHM9MTc4NjE0NzIwMA&amp;ptn=3&amp;ver=2&amp;hsh=4&amp;fclid=39691e48-b252-6eed-2f9c-09d5b3de6f59&amp;psq=firing+cdc+advisory+vaccine+panel+thehill&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVoaWxsLmNvbS9wb2xpY3kvaGVhbHRoY2FyZS81MzQxMDM0LXJmay1qci1maXJlcy1jZGNzLWluZGVwZW5kZW50LXZhY2NpbmUtYWR2aXNvcnMv\">firing members<\/a> of the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).<\/p>\n<p>He also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/ck\/a?!&amp;&amp;p=275e043b95f57cbc8de6ca42194481e1cc1bec6aedd16b3c4300323b75c98b21JmltdHM9MTc4NjE0NzIwMA&amp;ptn=3&amp;ver=2&amp;hsh=4&amp;fclid=39691e48-b252-6eed-2f9c-09d5b3de6f59&amp;psq=robert+malone+thehill&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmx1bWVudGhhbC5zZW5hdGUuZ292L25ld3Nyb29tL3ByZXNzL3JlbGVhc2UvZm9sbG93aW5nLWRlYWRseS1jZGMtc2hvb3RpbmctYmx1bWVudGhhbC1kZW1hbmRzLWtlbm5lZHktYXBwb2ludGVkLWFjaXAtbWVtYmVyLWJlLWZpcmVkLW92ZXItdmlvbGVudC1hbmQtdGhyZWF0ZW5pbmctcG9zdHMtcmVpdGVyYXRlcy1jYWxsLXRvLXJlc3RvcmUtZXhwZXJ0LXZhY2NpbmUtYWR2aXNvcnktcGFuZWw\">received a letter<\/a> 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, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/5452254-blumenthal-demands-rfk-jr-fire-malone\/\">made a blog post<\/a> that included images of guns and memes with the words \u201cif you need a disarmed society to govern, you suck at governing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Malone is a former researcher who helped lay the groundwork for mRNA vaccine technology, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/health\/rfk-jr-names-8-vaccine-panel-replacements-including-a-critic-of-covid-vaccines\">has since turned<\/a> into a self-professed anti-vaxxer.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>During the in-person fireside chat Kennedy hosted on the eve of the shooting, he allegedly praised the scientist\u2019s work at the agency but also called for greater scrutiny of scientific findings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t just trust a scientist, because scientists have biases, too,\u201d he said, according to a transcript of his 43-minute chat obtained by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/health\/2026\/08\/07\/rfk-jr-questions-scientists-access-data-cdc-campus-one-year-after-shooting\/\">The Washington Post<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re all hoarding their own data.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/RFK-Jr_071226_Weixel_Getty_Anna-Moneymaker.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}