Virginia Sate Troopers patrol near the Pentagon after Sept.
Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images
A Pentagon police officer has died after being stabbed multiple times in the neck outside the Pentagon Tuesday, officials familiar with the incident told NBC News.
The official opened fire on the attacker after the attack began outside the entrance to the Pentagon’s metro, according to NBC News. The attacker was shot dead by the police, but it is not yet clear which officer killed the attacker.
“I am incredibly sad to hear of the death of a Pentagon police officer who was killed this morning in senseless violence outside the Pentagon,” wrote Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.
“My heart goes out to the policeman’s family and friends and the entire Pentagon police force,” said Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The Pentagon was locked down Tuesday morning after multiple shots were fired near the building, but reopened after more than an hour.
The exact details and the course of events remain in the dark. Woodrow Kusse, the chief of police for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, said at a news conference that “the incident resulted in multiple injuries” but did not confirm the death of the officer.
However, Fairfax County Police also offered condolences on the death of a Pentagon police officer.
Kusse said authorities are not actively looking for another suspect: “The incident is over, the scene is safe and most importantly, there is no ongoing threat to our community,” he said.
The FBI is investigating the incident as the reasons are still unknown.
“At this point it would be premature to speculate about motives, and in order to protect the integrity of the investigation, we cannot provide any further details at this time,” said a statement from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “There is no ongoing threat to the public.”
The incident took place on a subway bus platform that is part of the Pentagon Transit Center, steps from the Pentagon building in Arlington County, Virginia.
“The Pentagon metro station is probably one of the busiest on the transportation system. It is a hub for commuters and building users, ”said Kusse at the press conference.
While the lockdown was being lifted, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency tweeted that the public should stay away from the subway entrance and bus platform as it is “still an active crime scene.”
Transportation in the Pentagon will now be diverted to Pentagon City, the agency added.
At the time of the shooting, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were at the White House to meet President Joe Biden.
The last time a significant incident occurred at the Pentagon Metro Center was in 2010, according to Kusse.
A gunman opened fire at the entrance to the Pentagon in March 2010 and wounded two officers from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. The officers who survived fatally shot the man shortly afterwards.
