After CDC shooting, leadership vacuums and delays frustrate staff

Four days after a gunman riddled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's main campus in Atlanta with bullets, CDC employees say they are still looking for steady leadership and clear communication. The agency's first all-hands meeting since the attack ran roughly 12 minutes, began late and was beset by technical problems, according to staff who tried to watch.

In Tuesday's all-hands, new CDC Director Susan Monarez described the shooting as "an attack in our community … and in many ways the very mission that we serve." She warned that "misinformation can be dangerous … we need to rebuild the trust together," urging "rational, evidence-based discourse … with compassion and understanding."

CDC security chief Jeff Williams told staff investigators view the incident as "a targeted attack on the CDC related to COVID-19." He said agency security "stopped" an intrusion that could have resulted in many more casualties, that nearly 100 children at the childcare center were reunited with parents that night, and that investigators recovered nearly 500 shell casings. More than 180 rounds struck six buildings, leaving extensive damage that will take time to repair.

Monarez closed the meeting by honoring fallen DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose and pointing staff to a CDC Foundation fund for his family.

In April, more than 200 staff were fired from the CDC's Injury Prevention Center. In the aftermath of Friday's shooting, several CDC employees noted the grim irony: the team charged with studying how to prevent firearm violence had been dismissed.

One employee who spoke with CBS News on background, because they were not authorized to comment publicly, described Monarez's remarks as "heavily scripted." Another staffer said, "Monarez is new and doesn't know the agency, but she could have brought in career leaders … to show that she's working hand in hand with experienced CDC leaders. It feels like most of the CDC community is really trying to unify and support each other." A union message referred to the meeting, which lasted from 11:12 a.m. to 11:24 a.m., as "insultingly insufficient," and invited workers to a noon healing session.

"Dr. Monarez and CDC leadership remain focused on supporting staff during an extraordinarily difficult time as evidenced by their continued direct engagement," Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, told CBS News. "Friday's shooting was a traumatic event for the agency, and leadership is working to provide continued updates along with resources for healing and recovery. There will be continued opportunities for staff engagement and dialogue in the days ahead."

Several employees praised separate Saturday and Tuesday calls for the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, led by Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, describing them as "validating," with clear next steps and mental-health resources. Monarez joined the Saturday call and "was more natural and less scripted," a staffer said.

On Tuesday, Daskalakis told staff, "We've experienced a horrific and intentionally targeted attack … we're shocked, we're grieving, we're scared," and he urged teams to use the space to speak frankly. He emphasized that CDC would take "time and space before we come back," noting the investigation is "complex and ongoing."

The meeting centered on mental health and resources to support traumatized staffers. Daskalakis introduced Dr. David Schonfeld of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, who walked through common post-crisis reactions.

"Most people try and hide their distress," he said, encouraging employees to seek support rather than suppress their feelings. Trying to do so, he added, "is not a superpower."

Daskalakis noted reports that the suspect was angry about COVID-19 vaccines and influenced by conspiracy theories. "This is not our fault," he said. "Our work is love and what we experienced is hate."

Many of the CDC's centers are currently led by acting directors, after several center directors were reassigned to the Indian Health Service earlier this year.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the CDC's campus on Monday, three days after the attack, while most staff were instructed by leadership to telework due to safety concerns and the ongoing assessments following the shootings. On the same day that he visited the CDC, Kennedy gave an interview to Scripps News in which he once again raised questions about vaccine safety, drawing sharp criticism from some CDC staff, who argued that anti-vaccine rhetoric, including from Kennedy, helped create the conditions for the attack.

HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon told CBS News, "This is a time to stand in solidarity with our public health workforce and we hope the media will respect the moment rather than exploiting a tragedy and further exacerbating an already harrowing experience by the dedicated CDC staff." White House spokesman Kush Desai said, "Violence has no place in any civil society, and the White House extends our heartfelt condolences to the family of Officer David Rose and the entire CDC team."