(CNN)
Two suspected shooters
"are down" at the Washington Navy Yard, according to Ed Zeigler,
director of Public Affairs for Naval District Washington. Zeigler was
not able to confirm whether the suspected gunmen had been taken into
custody or killed.
"Multiple" people have been killed in the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, Zeigler told CNN's Dan Merica.
See story below.
10 people injured at Navy Yard; Pentagon 'believes there has been loss of life'
(CNN) -- A gunman dressed
in all black fired shots Monday inside the U.S. Navy Yard, injuring at
least 10 people, according to the Navy and a Washington police
spokesman.
"We believe there has
been loss of life and several injuries," Pentagon spokesman George
Little said. The Navy tweeted there are "several confirmed injuries with
reports of fatalities."
An "active shooter" remained inside the building, the Navy said.
Helicopters hovered
overhead as police with riot and SWAT team gear swarmed the scene. In
one chopper, there appeared to be a police sniper peering out, with a
scope at the ready.
The Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent a team of about 20 special agents
to the scene, a law enforcement official said. The team was the same
group that helped apprehend Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev, the official said.
The injured included a
Washington police officer who has been hospitalized, and a base security
guard officer, said Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Saray
Leon.
The incident occurred at
8:20 a.m. when several shots were fired inside the headquarters for
Naval Sea Systems Command in southeast Washington.
Police spokesman Chris Kelly
described the suspect as an adult male, about 6 feet tall with a bald
head and medium complexion, dressed in a black top and black jeans.
Two witnesses told CNN
affiliate WJLA that they heard a fire alarm go off in the building where
they worked, then saw a man with a rifle down the hallway as they
exited the building.
"He aimed the gun and fired our way," a man who identified himself as Todd Brundidge told WJLA, adding, "I couldn't believe it."
People frantically tried to run out of the building, Brundidge said.
"Everyone was going down the stairs. They were pushing. They were shoving. People were falling down," he
told WJLA. "As we came outside, people were climbing the wall trying to
get over the wall to get out of the spaces. It was just crazy."
Emergency personnel, the
FBI, U.S. Capitol Police and local D.C. police responded to the
shooting, shutting down traffic in the area on the District's south side
along the Anacostia River. Some people are being evacuated, and others
are sheltering in place.
At least six schools were on lockdown as a precaution, the Washington public schools said in a Twitter post.
Air traffic to Reagan
National Airport in northern Virginia, the closest airport to downtown
Washington, was suspended but later resumed, the Federal Aviation
Administration said.
A White House statement said President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation.
The headquarters -- the
workplace for about 3,000 people -- is the largest of the Navy's five
system commands. It has a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion.
"With a force of 60,000
civilian, military and contract support personnel, NAVSEA engineers,
builds, buys and maintains the Navy's ships and submarines and their
combat systems," the Navy said.
The Washington Navy Yard
-- the Navy's oldest land establishment -- was created in 1799
following an act of Congress, according to the Naval History and
Heritage Command. Originally envisioned as a shipbuilding and fitting
facility on the Anacostia River, it serviced some of the Navy's most
famous early vessels, including the USS Constitution.
Burned during the War of
1812, the Navy Yard was transformed into a center for ordnance and
technological development. The facility was the world's largest ordnance
plant during World War II, but its military role steadily diminished
during the Cold War era.
Today, the Navy Yard
includes the headquarters of Naval District Washington and is home to a
naval museum. The area around the facility has been marked in recent
years by significant commercial and residential revitalization.
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