The man who fired more than 180 times with a rifle at the headquarters of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday committed the act in protest against COVID-19 vaccines, revealed the director of the Bureau of Investigation of the US state of Georgia Chris Howsey, quoted by the Associated Press and BTA.
The shooter Patrick Joseph White, who later committed suicide, broke a safe to take his father's gun, it became clear during a search of his family home, Howsey reported.
Documents were found indicating the "shooter's disagreement with the vaccination against COVID-19", he added he.
White, 30, has written a letter stating his desire to "make his discontent with vaccines public", the local FBI chief explained.
White had recently openly stated his suicidal intentions, which police were informed of several weeks before the shooting, Hawsey noted. White shot himself at the scene of the crime after killing a police officer.
FBI Special Agent Paul Brown was asked by a member of the media about the dangers of false information related to the centers' activities, including the vaccination campaign.
"We have not seen an increase (in false information - ed. note), although we take very seriously any information or statement that suggests or leads to violence. "While we are monitoring these types of messages and are extremely vigilant, we have not yet seen an increase in the risk in this regard," said Brown, who is the head of the FBI's Georgia field office in Atlanta.
The shooter's family is cooperating fully with the investigation, authorities said at a news conference. Hosie said White has a clean criminal record.
In a search of the family's home in the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw, authorities seized written documents that are being analyzed and electronic devices that are undergoing forensic examination, investigators said.
Investigators also seized five firearms, including a gun belonging to his father that the shooter also used in the attack, Hosie said.
He said the suspect did not have a key to the safe. "He broke it," Hosie said.
White was stopped by security at the health center, then headed to a pharmacy across the street from the building, where he opened fire, authorities said. The bullets pierced "blast-proof" windows, forcing employees to the ground. More than 500 shell casings were recovered from the scene, the FBI said.
After the shooting, center officials began a thorough search of the building and notified law enforcement of any new threats.
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the center on Monday, accompanied by his deputy Jim O'Neill and the centers' director, Susan Monares, the health agency said in a statement.
“No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others,“ Kennedy said in a statement on Saturday. It said top federal health officials are "actively supporting the centers" staff.
Kennedy also visited the DeKalb Police Department and later met with the wife of the slain officer.
Hosey said a photo of the shooter would be released, but urged the public to remember the slain officer's face.
Kennedy was a leader in the national anti-vaccine movement before President Donald Trump picked him as health secretary. He has made false and misleading claims about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as other vaccines, the AP recalls.
Some unionized employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called for a safer work environment. Employees who recently left the Centers due to planned cuts by the Trump administration have blamed Kennedy. It was only a matter of time before years of false rhetoric about vaccines and public health "had an impact on people's mental health," which "led to violence," said Tim Young, a center official who retired in April, quoted by the AP.