As Kennedy Visits Bullet-Riddled CDC, Critics Insist He Stop Vaccine Rhetoric
The HHS secretary also met with the widow of officer David Rose. Meanwhile, the agency says it is adding safety and security measures before it brings back employees, who are reeling from the trauma and have the option of working remotely this week. “I think most of us would very much like the next message we hear from [Kennedy] to begin with ‘I hereby resign,’” one staffer said.
Bloomberg:
RFK Jr. Visits CDC After Deadly Atlanta Shooting
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday following the deadly attack on the Atlanta-based agency on Aug. 8. CDC Director Susan Monarez and HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill joined Kennedy, with security officials pointing out shattered windows across multiple buildings and the main guard booth, according to a statement. Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department and later met with the widow of David Rose, the police officer who was killed in the shooting, the agency said. (Nix and Cohrs Zhang, 8/11)
Fierce Healthcare:
Critics Demand Rhetoric Change From RFK After CDC Shooting
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees and other prominent public health figures are calling for leadership to take a stronger stance on vaccine misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric following Friday afternoon’s shooting at the agency’s Atlanta headquarters. DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, 33, was killed responding to the attack and another police officer was injured, according to law enforcement officials and a statement from the agency. (Muoio, 8/11)
Politico:
‘Ridiculously Traumatized’: CDC Workers Fear Returning To Work After Fatal Shooting
Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now fear going to work after a gunman sprayed bullets at the agency’s Atlanta headquarters Friday evening, three agency staffers said. “Even the ones who weren’t in lockdown for seven hours and are ridiculously traumatized … even everybody else, I’m getting questions about ‘Are our windows bulletproof? And what about the areas without cell reception?’,” one of the staffers said. They were granted anonymity for fear of retribution. (Gardner, 8/11)
AP:
Man Fired 180 Shots, Breaking 150 Windows, At CDC Headquarters In Atlanta
The man who attacked the CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Friday fired more than 180 shots into the campus and broke about 150 windows, with bullets piercing “blast-resistant” windows and spattering glass shards into numerous rooms, according to information circulated internally at the agency. It may take weeks or even months to replace windows and clean up the damage, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel said. Building 21, which houses CDC Director Susan Monarez’s office, was hit by the largest number of bullets. CDC officials did not say if her office was hit. CDC employees were advised to work from home this week. (Stobbe, 8/11)
More on gun violence and mental health —
The New York Times:
Gunman Kills 3, Including a Child, at a Target Store in Austin
A gunman killed three people who were outside a Target store in Austin, Texas, on Monday afternoon and then stole a succession of cars before he was apprehended, local police officials said. Two of the victims, one adult and one child, were pronounced dead at the scene, shortly after emergency responders arrived around 2:20 p.m. Central time. A third person, an adult, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. A fourth person had minor medical complaints, not caused by traumatic injuries, according to emergency responders. Police said the gunman, a 32-year-old man whose name has not been released, had a history of mental health problems and has previously been placed on emergency holds, according to Lisa Davis, chief of the Austin Police Department. Such holds typically occur when individuals face a mental health crisis and pose a risk to themselves or others. (Salhotra and Montgomery, 8/11)
OPB:
NYC Shooter Had Two ‘Mental Health Holds’ In Las Vegas. They Didn’t Affect His Legal Right To Own Guns
Records released last week by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police confirm they had several contacts in recent years with Shane Tamura, the 27-year-old man who drove to New York and killed four people on July 28. The records show he was known to suffer from mental illness, had been the subject of two emergency psychiatric evaluations, and yet was still allowed to buy firearms legally — including the AR-15-style rifle used in New York. The information includes 911 calls from Tamura’s mother, who reported that her son was suicidal, and that he’d been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. She also told dispatchers her son had owned a gun in the past, and might still have one. (Kaste, 8/8)
