ATLANTA — Public health workers, families, and gun safety advocates gathered at Emory University this week, demanding changes to Georgia’s gun laws in the wake of last Friday’s deadly shooting at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The rally, held at the Rollins School of Public Health, was organized by Georgia Clinicians for Gun Safety. Speakers included doctors, nurses, and former CDC employees, many of whom said they no longer feel safe doing their jobs. “We are scared to go to work, we are scared to send our children to childcare, and we are scared to work in the field of public health,” one worker said.

Former CDC employee Abby Tide described the fear of that day, recalling how her son’s daycare was locked down during the attack and what the teacher told parents. “She said, it sounded like the gunshots were right outside the door,” Tide told the crowd.

Some speakers pointed to what they called a culture of vaccine misinformation as a contributing factor in the shooting, while others demanded public statements from Governor Brian Kemp and other leaders. “Governor Kemp, President Trump, Secretary Kennedy, was Friday’s attack not enough for you to condemn it?” Tide asked, calling their silence unacceptable.

Investigators say 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw fired nearly 200 rounds at the CDC’s campus, killing DeKalb County police officer David Rose before shooting and killing himself. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says White did not have a key to his father’s gun safe but broke into it to take the firearms used in the attack.

CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez told staff in a virtual meeting Tuesday that “things will be different and unsettling for some time to come” as employees prepare to return to campus in the coming weeks.

WSB’s Jennifer Perry contributed to this story