Shot-up windows still in place at CDC headquarters more than 7 months after attack

More than seven months after an attack at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention left its headquarters windows riddled with bullet holes, federal officials have not yet replaced the damaged panes, the agency’s acting chief acknowledged March 25.

In a staff meeting, CDC employees asked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya about the broken windows and noted that the panes had been papered over, according to reporting by the Associated Press. Bhattacharya responded that “We’re working on that,” adding that it is a priority. Another CDC official told employees that permanent replacement window work is underway, and the Associated Press said it heard a recording of the meeting.

After that meeting, CDC officials sent an email to employees saying work was beginning that month on repairs. A CDC official said each window has to be custom-made, installation depends on weather, and the project is on schedule, according to the AP report.

The unfinished replacement means bullet-damaged glass remains in place long after the Aug. attack, which involved Patrick Joseph White firing more than 180 shots into the CDC campus and breaking about 150 windows. The AP reported that bullets pierced “blast-resistant” windows and spattered glass shards into numerous rooms, based on information circulated internally at the agency.

According to the AP, White was stopped by CDC security guards before he reached a nearby pharmacy and opened fire on the CDC offices. Police officer David Rose responded and was killed; White also died. The AP reported that no one at CDC was injured in the attack, though many employees were terrified by what happened.

The AP report also described frustration among employees about the response from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political appointee who oversees the CDC and other federal health agencies. Kennedy visited the CDC campus over a weekend to survey damage but, according to the AP, did not attempt to meet with employees.

Bhattacharya told employees that he asked Kennedy to sign off on renaming a road entrance at the CDC after Rose, and that Kennedy agreed. White, the AP reported, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, and the AP characterized Kennedy as having been a leader in a national anti-vaccine movement before President Donald Trump selected him to oversee federal health agencies.