US: One dead after shooting at NSA

[webfact]

Latest on NSA shooting: Driver refused orders to stop
By The Associated Press

4:20 p.m.

Mary Phelan, a spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department, says the car involved in the NSA shooting was stolen Monday morning from a hotel in Jessup, Maryland. She declined to name the hotel, citing the ongoing investigation, or release any further details, referring all questions to the FBI.
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3:55 p.m.

Authorities aren't saying yet why two men dressed as women tried to enter the National Security Agency's campus at Fort Meade, Maryland without permission shortly before 9 a.m. Monday. But the NSA has issued a statement providing a point by point description of what happened next.

NSA Spokesman Jonathan Freed said in a statement that an agency officer gave the driver "routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus," but the driver disobeyed them, so barriers were deployed.

Freed says the driver then accelerated toward an NSA Police vehicle blocking the road, and that police fired at them when the driver refused to stop, crashing into the police vehicle.

One person inside the unauthorized vehicle died at the scene of causes that were not immediately determined. The other was hospitalized, as was one police officer.

The NSA statement does not mention anyone other than NSA police firing a weapon.

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2:15 p.m.

The National Security Agency says one of its officers fired on a car whose driver refused to obey instructions for safely exiting a restricted area.

An NSA statement says two people were in the vehicle that attempted to make an unauthorized entry to the agency's campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.

The agency says "the driver then failed to obey an NSA Police officer's routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus. The vehicle failed to stop and barriers were deployed."

The agency says the unauthorized vehicle then accelerated toward an NSA Police vehicle blocking the road, and police fired at them when the driver refused to stop, crashing into the police vehicle.

The agency says one person inside the unauthorized vehicle died at the scene, while the other was taken to a local hospital with injuries. One police officer also was injured and hospitalized.
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1:20 p.m.

Fort Meade's commander says one person was killed and another injured when they tried to drive a vehicle into the National Security Agency portion of the installation without authorization. A statement from Col. Brian Foley says NSA personnel prevented the two from gaining access to the campus of intelligence agencies.

Foley also says that the shooting is contained and under investigation.

He says "the residents, service members and civilian employees at the installation are safe" and that Fort Meade will "continue to remain vigilant at all of our access control points."

___

1 p.m.

The FBI is taking the lead investigating a deadly firefight outside Fort Meade, one of the most secure locations near the nation's capital.

The fortified campus includes the National Security Agency, the Defense Information systems Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command. The post is the largest single employer in Maryland, with offices for about 11,000 military personnel and 29,000 civilian employees.

One man was killed and another critically injured after officials said they tried to ram their SUV through a gate that serves as the entrance to the NSA just off the scenic Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Aerial video of the crime scene showed emergency workers loading an injured man in uniform into an ambulance.

Two senior government officials told The Associated Press that one of the men in the dark, unmarked SUV was killed.
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12:45 p.m.

FBI agents from Baltimore are investigating a firefight Monday morning outside a gate at the National Security Agency, where two men dressed as women apparently tried to force their sport utility vehicle past security.

The shooting happened outside the NSA's campus in Fort Meade, Maryland, just off Interstate 295 in Anne Arundel County.

FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson says an "Evidence Response Team" is processing the crime scene and that FBI agents are interviewing witnesses. The FBI will then work with federal prosecutors in Maryland to see if charges are warranted.
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12:40 p.m.

Another building on the NSA campus was damaged by gunfire earlier this month.

Authorities captured a man March 3 who they believe fired that night on the NSA site, as well as earlier at several nearby places and two moving vehicles.

The suspect in that case, Hong Young, told police he heard voices directing him to fire on one of the occupied vehicles.
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12:20 p.m.

A senior defense department official says the two men who tried to ram their sport utility vehicle through a gate at the National Security Agency were dressed as women.

The official says Defense Secretary Ash Carter has been briefed on the situation, which is being investigated by the FBI.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still developing.

FBI spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson says the scene is contained and that it does not appear to be linked to terrorism.

Authorities say at least one of the men in the car has died.
___

Noon

Aerial images of the scene at a National Security Agency gate at Fort Meade shows that a white SUV marked "NSA Police" is damaged, with its front end crumpled and the hood up. The other damaged vehicle is a dark, unmarked sport utility vehicle.
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11:50 a.m.

The FBI says the shooting at the NSA gate is not believed to be related to terrorism.

FBI spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson said in an email Monday that the shooting scene is contained. She says the agency is working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted.

Thoreson also says FBI agents are doing interviews with witnesses.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-31

[webfact]

NSA: Car smashes into police vehicle at Fort Meade; 1 dead
By MEREDITH SOMERS and LOLITA C. BALDOR

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Two men dressed as women smashed a stolen car into a police vehicle after they disobeyed commands at the closely guarded gates of the National Security Agency on Monday, prompting police to open fire.

One of the men died, the other was injured and a police officer also was taken to a hospital. Details remained unclear hours later. Initial images from the scene showed emergency workers loading the uniformed officer into an ambulance. Nearby were a dark-colored SUV and an SUV emblazoned with "NSA Police," both heavily damaged.

It was not known why the men wound up at the gate at Fort Meade, a sprawling military post that houses the National Security Agency, or why they did not obey orders from NSA police. Fort Meade is just off Interstate 295 between Baltimore and Washington.

The men were dressed as women, said a senior defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing case. It also was unclear exactly what the men were wearing.

The NSA said in a news release that investigators have not yet determined how the man in the vehicle died, and the conditions of the wounded man and officer were not disclosed.

An agency officer gave the driver "routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus," but the driver disobeyed them, the release said. The driver then accelerated toward a police vehicle blocking the road, and police then opened fire.

An FBI spokeswoman said earlier in the day that the incident was not believed to be linked to terrorism. The NSA said the incident was contained to the perimeter of the secure campus.

The car that rammed the police vehicle had been stolen Monday morning from a hotel in Jessup, Maryland, said Mary Phelan, a spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department. She declined to name the hotel, citing the ongoing investigation, or release any further details, referring all questions to the FBI.

A strip of hotels, motels and other businesses is less than 10 miles from Fort Meade in Jessup.

The FBI is investigating and working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted, FBI spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson said in an email.

It's not the first time someone has disobeyed orders at an NSA gate. In July, a man failed to obey an NSA officer's command to stop as he approached a checkpoint. The man drove away, injuring an NSA officer and nearly striking a barricade. He was later arrested.

Earlier this month, police captured a man accused of firing at a building on the NSA campus. The man, who was also accused of shooting at vehicles, told police he heard voices.

Fort Meade also is home to the Defense Information Systems Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command. About 11,000 military personnel and about 29,000 civilian employees work on the property.

The NSA's presence is clearly visible in the area, with large satellite dishes and glass and steel buildings rising from the tree line. Chain link fences marked with restricted access signs and topped with barbed wire run along the perimeter of the campus.

Posted signs inform drivers of various exits for the NSA and Fort Meade, including one for deliveries, another for the visitors center and one designated only for employees.

Jon Reinach, owner of Fort Meade Auto Center, said people sometimes stop by his service center asking for directions. Truck drivers sometimes also have to drop off their assistants at his shop because they don't have proper identification to get past security.

"A lot of people come in here trying to find their way to Fort Meade," Reinach said, adding that he's heard of people going through the wrong security entrance, but "usually they'll pull over to a waiting area and they usually do check out."
___

Associated Press reporters Amanda Lee Myers in Washington and David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Maryland, contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-31

[Seastallion]

Transvestite terrorists?

Well, I guess idealism and radicalism are equal opportunity recruiters.

"two men dressed as women tried to enter the National Security Agency's campus"

[Somtamnication]

Wonder when this would happen.

But dressed as women?

[up-country_sinclair]

This is a very strange story, and I think there is a very good chance we'll never really know all the particulars.

[Seastallion]

This is a very strange story, and I think there is a very good chance we'll never really know all the particulars.

My guess, aside from transvestite terrorists, is spring breakers off their trolleys and nothing sinister at all.

[JingerBen]

This is a very strange story, and I think there is a very good chance we'll never really know all the particulars.

My guess, aside from transvestite terrorists, is spring breakers off their trolleys and nothing sinister at all.

Could be...

Weren't they shot while trying to exit the facility?

[NeverSure]

This is a very strange story, and I think there is a very good chance we'll never really know all the particulars.

My guess, aside from transvestite terrorists, is spring breakers off their trolleys and nothing sinister at all.

Could be...

Weren't they shot while trying to exit the facility?

The police were probably concerned about a car bomb as this is one of the most highly sensitive and secured areas in the country.

As I read it, the car was unauthorized, the driver disobeyed instructions about how to exit, and then disobeyed an order to stop and instead accelerated toward a police car which was blocking the roadway. The perp's car crashed into that police car. It looks like they might have been shot for accelerating toward the police car.

Doing what this perp did wouldn't be a real good idea.

Edited March 31, 2015 by NeverSure

[VillageIdiot]

"...dressed as women..."

That could mean anything from burkas to bikinis.