One Gunman Dead, Two More Possibly At Large in Navy Yard Shooting
Armed police prepare to enter the Washington Navy Yard as they respond. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray briefs reporters on the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. At least one gunman opened fire inside a building at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier briefs reporters on the shooting. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Emergency personnel respond to a reported shooting at the Washington Navy Yard Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
This photo, which AP obtained from Don Andres and has been authenticated based on details in it, shows emergency personnel attending to a scene where a gunman was reported at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, (AP Photo/Don Andres)
Members of the military guard a military garage near the Navy Yard. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A U.S. Park Police helicopter removes a man in a basket from the Navy Yard. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Police work the scene on M Street, SE near the Navy Yard. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Police bring in equipment by an anchor outside of an entrance to the Navy Yard. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A policeman work the scene on M Street S.E. in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
An active search for possible suspects in a morning shooting is underway at Washington D.C.'s Navy Yard. Police officers are among the wounded, including one officer who was shot, according to the MPD. One police officer is currently at Washington Hospital Center and in critical condition with multiple bullet wounds to his legs, a hospital spokeswoman said at an 11:30 a.m. press conference.
At a press conference a little after 2 p.m., Mayor Gray said there are at least 12 fatalities. This number was backed up by Police Chief Cathy Lanier. She also said that the FBI will now be taking the lead on the investigation. Lanier said there is still an active search for two possible suspects. However, around 2:45 in the afternoon, the deputy mayor for public safety stated that one of those persons, who was described as white male wearing a tan military uniform, is no longer a suspect.
The mayor says he doesn't have any reason to think this was a terrorist attack, although motives are currently unknown. Gray said there will be another press conference a little after 4 p.m.
At an earlier press conference, Lanier confirmed that one shooter is dead at the scene, as well as multiple victims. She also said, "We potentially may have two additional shooters out there."
Speaking about the other potential shooters, Lanier said, "We have no information to believe that either of those folks are military personnel, but we do have information that those individuals are wearing military style uniforms."
You can see her full remarks here:
President Obama, speaking about the "horrific tragedy" just before a planned speech on the economic recovery, referred to the event as "yet another mass shooting." He continued:
I've made it clear to my team that I want the investigation to be seamless so that federal and local authorities are working together. And as this investigation moves forward, we will do everything in our power to make sure whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.
In the meantime, we send our thoughts and prayers to all at the Navy Yard who have been touched by this tragedy. We thank them for their service. We stand with the families of those who have been harmed. They're going to need our love and support.
And as we learn more about the courageous Americans who died today, their lives, their families, their patriotism, we will honor their service to the nation they helped to make great. And obviously, we're going to be investigating thoroughly what happened as we do so many of these shootings, sadly, that have happened. And do everything that we can to try to prevent them.
The mayor, speaking from a yellow notepad at a press conference, said police are "still trying to confirm the number of fatalities," and he called it an "isolated incident," as far as authorities know.
By 1:30 PM, Tech Sergeant David Reyes of the U.S. Air Force was the only man in the crowd of reporters in green fatigues. At 8:30 this morning, his wife had texted him to say her Navy Yard building was on lock-down. Reyes, who works at Andrews, immediately turned on the television. Once he saw what was happening, he came to the scene.
Reyes' wife works in the building next to where the shootings occurred, and she's still sheltered there this afternoon. She works with many civilians, all of whom are pretty hungry right now, Reyes told National Journal. Reyes says he doesn't know how long it will be before his wife can leave, and that the situation right now is something of a "logistics nightmare."
A lone food cart remains open at the intersection of M and 3rd Streets, just a few blocks from the site of the shooting, serving food to reporters and the occasional passerby:
A friend of the vendor came to check on her friend as soon as she heard the news. "It's a sad day for all of us," she said. "I'm praying for everyone."
Speaking at the Navy Yard just before noon, Navy Commander Tim Jirus says he has "no idea" of how many shooters were on the scene. "I don't know if they came from the roof or the fire escape," he said. A person was shot next to the commander. "We know people we work with who are on their way to the hospital. We don't know if they are going to make it or not."
The Navy confirmed that an active shooter was inside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building at 8:20 AM, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for personnel.
Almost six hours after the shooting began, very little is clear or public about exactly what happened.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told TheWashington Post earlier in the day that three shooters are involved. The Post later updated its report to say that police believe there were two shooters on the scene, not three.
A spokesperson for the Medstar Washington Hospital Center gave some indication of what type of weapon was used on the scene: "I would tell you from the reports of the victims, it was—it had to be a semiautomatic, because they are talking about gunshots that they heard in rapid succession." You can see her full remarks here:
Much of Washington has been shut down as the search for potential shooters goes on. A little before 3 p.m., the Senate Sergeant at Arms announced that there would be a "shelter in place" for Senate offices. Schools and businesses in the area were on lockdown, but were dismissed a normal schedule. All flights were grounded this morning at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, but that order has since been lifted.
A gunman was shooting from the fourth floor into the building's cafeteria on the first floor, a witness told the Associated Press.
We'll continue to update this post as more comes in.
Here's what you need to know about the Yard itself:
The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the Navy's commands, with a fiscal year budget of almost $30 billion. About 3,000 people work in the headquarters.
The Navy Yard, which is a national historic landmark, was for decades known as a "ceremonial gateway" to D.C.
Purchased in 1798, the Washington Navy Yard was established in October 1799 and built under the direction of the first secretary of the Navy.
The yard has a firm place in U.S. history: In 1865, the Lincoln assassination conspirators were brought there after they were captured; including the body of John Wilkes Booth.
The Navy Yard was ordered burned as the British marched on Washington during the War of 1812 to prevent its capture.
Weapons designed and built at the yard were used in every U.S. war until the 1960s.
An aerial shot of the yard from 1991:
A torpedo shop at the yard during World War One:
And a shot from between 1861-1865:
The Washington Navy Yard photographed between 1861 and 1865.
A map of the area:
