NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government has not yet replaced the bullet-pocked windows that serve as a grim reminder of an attack at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than seven months ago, the agency's acting chief acknowledged Wednesday.
CDC employees asked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya about the broken windows during a staff meeting, noting that the panes were papered over.
“We're working on that,” Bhattacharya said, adding that it's a priority.
Another CDC official said permanent window replacement work is underway. (The Associated Press heard a recording of the meeting.)
In an email to employees after the meeting, CDC officials noted that work was beginning this month on the repairs. Each window has to be custom-made, installation is weather dependent and the project is on schedule, according to a CDC official.
In August, a 30-year-old man 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.
The man — Patrick Joseph White — had been stopped by CDC security guards before driving to a nearby pharmacy and opening fire on the CDC offices. A police officer, David Rose, responded and was killed. White also died. No one at CDC was injured, though many were terrified by the attack.
White had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal.
Many employees were frustrated and underwhelmed by the response of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political appointee who oversees the CDC and other federal health agencies. Kennedy made a quick weekend visit to the CDC campus to survey the damage, but did not attempt to meet with employees.
Kennedy was a leader in a national anti-vaccine movement before President Donald Trump selected him to oversee federal health agencies, and has made false and misleading statements about the safety and effectiveness of about COVID-19 shots and other vaccines.
Bhattacharya said he asked Kennedy to sign off on an effort to rename the CDC's road entrance after Rose, the fallen officer, and that Kennedy agreed.
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