Though law enforcement has not officially announced a motive behind the attack, for many in public health, the shooting seemed to vindicate their long-running fears that the backlash to their work during the coronavirus pandemic could turn deadly.

Fishing the Kenae with Ninilchik Chief Ivan Encelewski Chairman of the Cook Inlet Tribal Council and Council President Gloria Oneil The 1948 photo is Ivans grandpa Chief Larry Oskolkoff Sr. with a skiff load of King salmon from a Cook Inlet fish trap. The Kenae Kings are also in… pic.twitter.com/aVtkZTkI36

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has visited the CDC headquarters in Atlanta where a police officer was killed in a shooting that is believed to have targeted the national public health agency.