September 16, 2013
WASHINGTON — The Washington Navy Yard was placed on lockdown after multiple shots were fired inside a building on the base, the U.S. Navy said. Four people were killed, according to several news reports. The Navy confirmed multiple fatalities, but would not immediately confirm that figure.
September 16, 2013
WASHINGTON — The Washington Navy Yard was placed on lockdown after multiple shots were fired inside a building on the base, the U.S. Navy said. Four people were killed, according to several news reports. The Navy confirmed multiple fatalities, but would not immediately confirm that figure.
Police work the scene on M street, SE Washington Navy Yard on Monday, September 16, 2013
At least 10 people were injured in the shooting, including eight civilians, one Washington, D.C., Metro police officer and one base officer, D.C. Metro Police said.
Ed Ziegler, director of public affairs for the Naval District of Washington, said two suspected shooters were pinned down inside the building. Ziegler said he did not know the condition of those suspects.
The Navy said shots were fired at the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building on the base at 8:20 a.m., and a "shelter in place" order was issued for Navy Yard personnel, the Navy said.
Rick Mason, administrative specialist program management specialist for the U.S. Navy, told Yahoo News he was on the fourth floor when he saw a shooter had a shotgun, aiming down into the atrium. The gunman, Mason said, was targeting people who walked into the cafeteria.
Other employees described a chaotic scene.
"We heard two shots and started wondering if that was the sound of someone dropping someone or if they were really shots," Omar Grant, a civilian employee at the Navy Yard who was on the first floor of the atrium, said. "We heard three more shots and that's when people started running out of the building and getting the hell out of there."
Approximately 3,000 people work in the building, the Navy said, though it's unclear how many people were inside at the time of the shooting.
A White House official said President Barack Obama had been briefed several times about the unfolding situation at the Navy Yard by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco and Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromanaco.
A heavy SWAT and police presence could be seen around the Navy Yard, and a helicopter was circling overhead.
Employees could be seen huddled outside the base crying and holding each other. At least one of the victims was airlifted from the scene.
A ground stop was ordered at Reagan National Airport, and schools in the area were placed on temporary lockdown.
According to the Navy's website, Naval Sea Systems "engineers, builds, buys and maintains the Navy's ships and submarines and their combat systems." Approximately 60,000 people work there.
Courtesy: yahoo news
