Shots were fired outside the headquarters of the National Security Agency Wednesday morning. Sources told CBS News that three people were injured and two people were in custody.
An SUV was seen stopped at the entrance to the key U.S. intelligence facility in Fort Meade, Maryland, northeast of Washington.
According to a law enforcement source, the SUV apparently tried to ram a security gate at an entrance to the NSA’s campus, CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton reports.
Bullet holes were seen in the vehicle’s windshield, but two officials told CBS News that no one was hit by gunfire. One person was rushed to a hospital with injuries sustained from the crash. Two others who were in the vehicle were being held by authorities.
It’s not clear whether any weapons were in the vehicle, the officials said.
NSA police, the FBI and local law enforcement responded to the shooting, sources told CBS News. The situation was under control, and there was no ongoing threat, the NSA said in a statement.
It was unclear what the SUV was doing at the gate.
White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement that President Trump had been briefed on the shooting.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone that has been affected,” Walters said.
After the shooting, authorities closed a major highway in both directions, causing major backups throughout the area during rush hour.
Despite prominent highway signs, drivers occasionally take the wrong exit and end up at the tightly secured gates. Most motorists then carefully follow the orders of heavily armed federal officers and turn around without getting into more trouble.
But in early 2015, two people were shot at by NSA police when they disobeyed orders outside the heavily secured campus. One driver died at the scene after NSA police opened fire on a stolen sports utility vehicle. Authorities later said they had stolen a car from a man who picked them up for a party at a motel.
source: cbsnews.com