.Suspect, Police Hurt in Pentagon Shootout
Two police officers were injured by a suspect who opened fire outside the Pentagon tonight after the officers asked him for an access pass, police said.
The encounter left the suspect, who did not speak before opening fire around 6:40 p.m., in "pretty critical" condition, Pentagon Police Chief Richard S. Keevill told reporters.
The suspect was identified as John Patrick Bedell, sources told ABC News and The Associated Press, which added that he was 36 years old. Keevill would only say the suspect was "an American citizen, as far as I know."
"The officers were emphatic about saying he was very calm, that there was no distress," Keevill said. "He had his arms down at his pocket. We see folks come up to the Pentagon every day that have their passes in different places. He reached into his pocket. They assumed he was going to get his pass out. He came out with a gun and just started shooting."
Keevill would not identify the officers, but said their injuries appeared non-life-threatening.
"Those injuries were grazing injuries," Keevill said. "The police officers were able to return fire. The suspect's injuries were much more severe."
The three people injured in the shootout were taken to George Washington Hospital in Washington, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The shooting occurred at a Pentagon pre-screening area near the entrance to the Pentagon Metro Station.
The officers belonged to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the Defense Department said in a statement.
One officer appeared to be hit in the lower part of the body, according to reporters there. He appeared alert when he was loaded into an ambulance.
Code Red Lockdown
Initially, hundreds of employees at the Pentagon were ordered to go into "Code Red" -- the entire building locked down, with no one allowed to enter or leave.
At least three ambulances were seen at the location, and all parking lots at the massive Defense Department headquarters were closed off.
After about 45 minutes, people were allowed to leave the Pentagon building through entrances other than the one closest to the Metro station, though Metro trains bypassed the Pentagon station.
Service to the station resumed around 8 p.m., according to a statement by Metro officials, though parts of the facility remained closed as police continued to investigate the shooting.
The Pentagon Metro station stop is a couple of hundred feet from the famous five-sided building. People leaving the station who wish to enter the Pentagon must show ID to Pentagon police in order to get close to the building.
The Pentagon, just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington, is, by area, the world's largest office building. About 26,000 people work there, according to the Defense Department.
ABC
The encounter left the suspect, who did not speak before opening fire around 6:40 p.m., in "pretty critical" condition, Pentagon Police Chief Richard S. Keevill told reporters.
The suspect was identified as John Patrick Bedell, sources told ABC News and The Associated Press, which added that he was 36 years old. Keevill would only say the suspect was "an American citizen, as far as I know."
"The officers were emphatic about saying he was very calm, that there was no distress," Keevill said. "He had his arms down at his pocket. We see folks come up to the Pentagon every day that have their passes in different places. He reached into his pocket. They assumed he was going to get his pass out. He came out with a gun and just started shooting."
Keevill would not identify the officers, but said their injuries appeared non-life-threatening.
"Those injuries were grazing injuries," Keevill said. "The police officers were able to return fire. The suspect's injuries were much more severe."
The three people injured in the shootout were taken to George Washington Hospital in Washington, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The shooting occurred at a Pentagon pre-screening area near the entrance to the Pentagon Metro Station.
The officers belonged to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the Defense Department said in a statement.
One officer appeared to be hit in the lower part of the body, according to reporters there. He appeared alert when he was loaded into an ambulance.
Code Red Lockdown
Initially, hundreds of employees at the Pentagon were ordered to go into "Code Red" -- the entire building locked down, with no one allowed to enter or leave.
At least three ambulances were seen at the location, and all parking lots at the massive Defense Department headquarters were closed off.
After about 45 minutes, people were allowed to leave the Pentagon building through entrances other than the one closest to the Metro station, though Metro trains bypassed the Pentagon station.
Service to the station resumed around 8 p.m., according to a statement by Metro officials, though parts of the facility remained closed as police continued to investigate the shooting.
The Pentagon Metro station stop is a couple of hundred feet from the famous five-sided building. People leaving the station who wish to enter the Pentagon must show ID to Pentagon police in order to get close to the building.
The Pentagon, just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington, is, by area, the world's largest office building. About 26,000 people work there, according to the Defense Department.
ABC
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