CDC Office Under Fire: 2025 Shooting Sparks Ongoing Institutional Crisis

In August 2025 an active-shooter unleashed roughly 500 rounds at the CDC campus in Atlanta, killing DeKalb County Officer David Rose and the gunman, and the incident has since led to staff departures, proposed budget cuts and a sharp decline in public trust.

On the afternoon of August 8, 2025, an armed individual opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campus in Atlanta, discharging roughly 500 rounds, of which about 180 hit the facility's windows and walls, before being killed near the main entrance. DeKalb County Officer David Rose, a 33-year-old former Marine and father of three, was killed while protecting staff. The shooter blamed the CDC and Covid-19 vaccines for his health problems.

In the aftermath, senior scientists, including former director Daniel B. Jernigan, resigned; the agency lost roughly 25% of its workforce through firings, retirements and departures. Proposed budget cuts could slash the CDC's funding by 40% for 2027, and public trust in its vaccine guidance dropped to 47%. The White House has offered no public comment, and the incident has intensified anti-vaccine rhetoric and political attacks on career scientists.