I was in my office when bullets hit the CDC. A year later, the agency remains under attack

By Daniel JerniganAug. 7, 2026

Jernigan is the former director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

On the afternoon of Aug. 8, 2025, I was in my office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when I heard what sounded like hammering outside. One of my laboratory directors appeared at my door. She shared that her husband, in the 12-story building next door, said his building was shaking. Construction, on a Friday near quitting time? That didn’t fit.

Then she said that people feared it was an active shooter.

From my window I watched fire trucks swing onto Clifton Road, turning cars away from the gunfire. People on the sidewalk raised their phones to record, then turned and ran. It was the hour when thousands of staff leave for the weekend. We couldn’t imagine why anyone would shoot at CDC.