Active shooter incident forces CDC staff to shelter in place, highlighting ongoing threats to public health workers
On August 8, 2025, the author was working in an office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when a series of loud bangs sounded outside. A laboratory director reported that a neighboring building was shaking, and alerts quickly warned of an active shooter on the CDC campus.
Employees were instructed to shelter in place. Fire trucks arrived on Clifton Road, and people on the sidewalks began recording the scene before fleeing. Laboratory personnel, in the middle of experiments, took cover under benches and waited for the danger to pass.
The incident underscores the growing security challenges faced by public‑health workers who protect the nation from disease outbreaks. It serves as a reminder that those tasked with safeguarding health also need protection from external threats.
This writeup was produced by pharmadog from original reporting by STAT.
Original headline: “Opinion: I was in my office when bullets hit the CDC. A year later, the agency remains under attack”
read at STAT ↗
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