According to Fox 5 in Washington D.C., the incident escalated after a car tried to bypass security at an entrance to the NSA facility at around 9 a.m. Monday morning. Authorities are yet to provide a motive for the incident, however, they have given a detailed description of the events that led to the fatal shooting.
Update on 3-30-2015: Added changed number of perpetrators, included comments from Fort Meade commander and NSA spokesman, as well as details about the stolen car used in the incident.
NSA spokesman John Freed told ABC News that the driver disobeyed “routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus,” which led security personnel to put up barriers. The driver was said to have sped toward an NSA police car that was blocking the road. Officers shot at the vehicle when the driver refused to stop. In addition to the two people in the car, a police officer was also hurt in the incident.
CBS Baltimore reported that one person died and another was sent to the hospital. Fort Meade Garrison Commander Brian Foley told the Associated Press that the shooting has been contained, and there is an ongoing investigation. He said that “the residents, service members, and civilian employees at the installation are safe, “adding that they will “continue to remain vigilant at all of our access points.”
Initially, there were conflicting reports about the gender of the perpetrators, however, NBC News said that the perpetrators were men disguised as women. When the car was searched after the incident, police found wigs, a weapon, and some cocaine. Mary Phelan, a spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department, told the Associated Press that the car used in the incident was stolen from a hotel in Jessup, Maryland.
The FBI has taken over the investigation. For now, authorities are saying that the incident can not be linked to terrorism.
“FBI Baltimore is investigating a shooting incident which occurred this morning at a gate at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade just off I-295 in Anne Arundel County, MD. The shooting scene is contained and we do not believe it is related to terrorism,” the agency wrote in a statement. “We are investigating with NSA Police and other law enforcement agencies. Our Evidence Response Team is processing the crime scene, and FBI Agents are doing joint interviews with witnesses. We are working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted. We have no further information at this time to release.”
A similar security incident occurred in Fort Meade earlier this month. Hon Young, who was behind a shooting in the area, was caught after officers recognized his car from surveillance footage. This is a breaking news story, so details are still murky. We’ll update this article when authorities make further announcements.
