Police were looking for two other potential gunmen wearing military-style uniforms, including one who had on a beret, chief Cathy Lanier said.
One had a long gun and the other was also armed, she said. One of the three gunmen had died, though Lanier didn't say how.
'The big concern for us right now is that we have potentially two other shooters that we have not located at this point,' Lanier said.
Witnesses reported one man described as an African-American male in his 50s dressed in military fatigues and armed with an AR-15 assault rifle opening fire upon entering the base at the Naval Sea System Command HQ.
One gunman has been killed, though it wasn't immediately clear how, according to a Defense Department official and federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Two other officials have said police were looking into the possibility of a second and third shooter.
The attacks came three days after al-Qaeda used the 12th anniversary of 9/11 to call for strikes on America.
Hundreds of SWAT and FBI rapid response units descended on the nation's capital to deal with the situation which unfolded just before 8.30 a.m. this morning.
Initial reports from the scene are that one of the suspects walked up to the facility, opened fire and then ran inside the building.
'There was three gunshots straight in a row,' said Patricia Ward, who works at the Navy Yard, describing how she first heard the gunfire while having breakfast at the headquarters building.
A few seconds later, Ward said she heard four more gunshots. Security guards rushed in and got people out as fast as they could - ''Run, run, run, 'they told people,' Ward told reporters.
More...
The moment cops open fire on mentally disturbed suspect on 'suicide-by-cop' mission in chaotic Times Square-area shooting which left two bystanders wounded
NBC News, citing a senior naval officer at the Navy Yard, said at least 12 people had been shot.
'We saw him hold the rifle, and we saw him aim it in our direction,' said one witness to Fox News.
More...
The moment cops open fire on mentally disturbed suspect on 'suicide-by-cop' mission in chaotic Times Square-area shooting which left two bystanders wounded
Another Navy official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than one gunman may have been involved. The Washington Post reported that there were several gunmen.
The Navy said in a statement the shooting took place at the heavily guarded headquarters, where about 3,000 people work.
The shooting hit the military establishment less than three week after U.S. Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for murdering 13 people in 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas, where he gunned down unarmed soldiers in what he later called retaliation for U.S. wars in Muslim countries.
One victim was reported to have been shot on the roof of a building, reported News4's Tony Tull.
A U.S. Park Police helicopter lowered a basket to a building and lifted what appeared to be a shooting victim from the roof just before 10 a.m.
SWAT officers, military police, U.S. Capitol police and Washington city police all rushed to respond.
Monday’s shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. has, currently, 'no known connection to terrorism,' according to an early internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by The Daily Caller.
'Metropolitan Police is responding to reports of shots fired at the Washington Navy Yard Base,' the DHS report reads.
'Multiple units responding including SWAT unit at this time. Subject allegedly has multiple weapons.'
According to a source at the Joint Terrorism Task Force there is no evidence that the attack is terror related at this time.
'There are seven dead including the shooter. The entire JTTF is active on the case. But there is no conclusion that it's terror-related but DHS is leading the investigation and police are searching for two more suspects,' a source told the MailOnline.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, President Obama said that 'We send our thoughts and prayers to all the Navy Yard who have been touched by this tragedy.'
The president spoke of how the spectre of mass shootings had reared its head in America again and said that despite the Navy Yards housing civilians as well as military personnel,'Today they faced the unimaginable violence they wouldn't have expected at home.'
The Capitol police said they were stepping up security on the Capitol grounds and the White House.
Washington police told WRC that nearby schools were being locked down, and that some bridges were being closed as a precautionary measure.
Emergency personnel are on scene and a 'shelter in place' order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel.
One suspect has been described as a black male, believed to be nearly six feet tall, wearing a military uniform and black hat, WUSA 9 News in D.C. reported.
President Obama was briefed about the shooting, according to a statement from the White House issued earlier in the morning.
The President directed his team to stay in touch with our federal partners, including the Navy and FBI, as well as the local officials,' the statement said.
'We urge citizens to listen to the authorities and follow directions from the first responders on site.'
The shooter was "contained" but not yet in custody, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Helicopters swarmed overhead, schools were on lockdown and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were grounded as authorities swarmed the area in southeast D.C., just miles from the Capitol
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
'There was three gunshots straight in a row,' said Patricia Ward, who works at the Navy Yard, describing how she first heard the gunfire while having breakfast at the headquarters building.
A few seconds later, Ward said she heard four more gunshots. Security guards rushed in and got people out as fast as they could - ''Run, run, run, 'they told people,' Ward told reporters.
More...
The moment cops open fire on mentally disturbed suspect on 'suicide-by-cop' mission in chaotic Times Square-area shooting which left two bystanders wounded
NBC News, citing a senior naval officer at the Navy Yard, said at least 12 people had been shot.
'We saw him hold the rifle, and we saw him aim it in our direction,' said one witness to Fox News.
More...
The moment cops open fire on mentally disturbed suspect on 'suicide-by-cop' mission in chaotic Times Square-area shooting which left two bystanders wounded
Another Navy official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than one gunman may have been involved. The Washington Post reported that there were several gunmen.
The Navy said in a statement the shooting took place at the heavily guarded headquarters, where about 3,000 people work.
The shooting hit the military establishment less than three week after U.S. Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for murdering 13 people in 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas, where he gunned down unarmed soldiers in what he later called retaliation for U.S. wars in Muslim countries.
One victim was reported to have been shot on the roof of a building, reported News4's Tony Tull.
A U.S. Park Police helicopter lowered a basket to a building and lifted what appeared to be a shooting victim from the roof just before 10 a.m.
Monday’s shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. has, currently, 'no known connection to terrorism,' according to an early internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by The Daily Caller.
'Metropolitan Police is responding to reports of shots fired at the Washington Navy Yard Base,' the DHS report reads.
'Multiple units responding including SWAT unit at this time. Subject allegedly has multiple weapons.'
According to a source at the Joint Terrorism Task Force there is no evidence that the attack is terror related at this time.
'There are seven dead including the shooter. The entire JTTF is active on the case. But there is no conclusion that it's terror-related but DHS is leading the investigation and police are searching for two more suspects,' a source told the MailOnline.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, President Obama said that 'We send our thoughts and prayers to all the Navy Yard who have been touched by this tragedy.'
The president spoke of how the spectre of mass shootings had reared its head in America again and said that despite the Navy Yards housing civilians as well as military personnel,'Today they faced the unimaginable violence they wouldn't have expected at home.'
Washington police told WRC that nearby schools were being locked down, and that some bridges were being closed as a precautionary measure.
Emergency personnel are on scene and a 'shelter in place' order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel.
One suspect has been described as a black male, believed to be nearly six feet tall, wearing a military uniform and black hat, WUSA 9 News in D.C. reported.
President Obama was briefed about the shooting, according to a statement from the White House issued earlier in the morning.
The President directed his team to stay in touch with our federal partners, including the Navy and FBI, as well as the local officials,' the statement said.
'We urge citizens to listen to the authorities and follow directions from the first responders on site.'
The shooter was "contained" but not yet in custody, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Helicopters swarmed overhead, schools were on lockdown and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were grounded as authorities swarmed the area in southeast D.C., just miles from the Capitol
Witnesses
described a gunman opening fire from the fourth floor, aiming down on
people in the first-floor cafeteria. Others said a gunman fired at them
in a third-floor hallway.
As witnesses emerged from the building, a helicopter hovered over the building, schools were on lockdown and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were briefly grounded. Less than 2 miles away, security was beefed up at the Capitol, but officials said there was no known threat there.
The exact number of people killed and the conditions of those wounded was not immediately known. About 3,000 people work at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters, which builds, buys and maintains the Navy's ships and submarines and combat systems.
Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and other co-workers encountered a gunman in a long hallway of their building on the third floor. The gunman was wearing all blue, he said.
"He just turned and started firing," Brundidge said.
Terrie Durham, an executive assistant with the same agency, said she also saw the gunman firing toward her and Brundridge.
Rick Mason, a program management
analyst who is a civilian with the U.S. Navy, said a gunman was shooting
from a fourth floor overlook in the hallway outside his office. He said
the gunman was aiming down at people in the building's cafeteria on the
first floor. Mason said he could hear the shots but could not see a
gunman.
Shortly after the gunfire, Mason said someone on an overhead speaker told workers to seek shelter and later to head for the gates at the complex.
Patricia Ward, a logistics management specialist, said she was in the cafeteria and heard shots. They sounded like "pop, pop, pop," she said. After a few seconds, there were more shots.
"Everybody just panicked at first," she said. "It was just people running, running, running."
Ward said security officers started directing people out of the building with guns drawn
Police and federal agents from multiple law enforcement agencies responded. Ambulances were parked outside, streets in the area were closed and departures from Reagan National Airport were temporarily halted for security reasons.
Among the wounded was a D.C. police officer, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
A U.S. Park Police helicopter hovered over the building and appeared to drop a basket with a person onto the roof.
Officials at MedStar Washington Hospital Center said two shooting victims had been brought there.
District of Columbia schools officials said six schools and one administrative building in the vicinity of the Navy Yard were placed on lockdown. The action was taken out an abundance of caution, schools spokeswoman Melissa Salmanowitz said.
Janis Orlowski, chief medical officer at George Washington Hospital said that they have taken three people who are seriously injured but have good chances of survival.
The doctor said that all victims are conscious and speaking. She said the first male victim has multiple gunshot wounds to the leg.
The second victim is female and has been shot in the shoulder. The third victim is female and has been shot in the head.
The hospital said that it is expecting to receive more of the injured. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the Navy's five system commands. With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navy's entire budget.
The Navy Yard is along the Anacostia River in Washington, near the headquarters of the Department of Transportation and the Washington Nationals baseball stadium.
As witnesses emerged from the building, a helicopter hovered over the building, schools were on lockdown and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were briefly grounded. Less than 2 miles away, security was beefed up at the Capitol, but officials said there was no known threat there.
The exact number of people killed and the conditions of those wounded was not immediately known. About 3,000 people work at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters, which builds, buys and maintains the Navy's ships and submarines and combat systems.
Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and other co-workers encountered a gunman in a long hallway of their building on the third floor. The gunman was wearing all blue, he said.
"He just turned and started firing," Brundidge said.
Terrie Durham, an executive assistant with the same agency, said she also saw the gunman firing toward her and Brundridge.
Reaction: Police work the scene on M Street,
SE in Washington near the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, Sept. 16,
2013. The U.S. Navy says one person is injured after a shooting at a
Navy building in Washington
"He
aimed high and missed," she said. "He said nothing. As soon as I
realized he was shooting, we just said, `Get out of the building.''He said nothing. He just raised the gun and started firing at us': Eyewitnesses recount terror after gunmen open fire
Terrified
workers described how one of the suspects walked calmly into the
facility and silently sprayed bullets from an AR-15 assault rifle.
'No words. He raised the gun and started firing. He said nothing,' witness Todd Brundidge said.
Brundidge and his co-worker Terrie Durham were in the Office of Naval Sea Systems Command on Monday morning when a fire alarm went off, followed by orders to leave the building.
'I was on the phone and someone came up to my desk and said, "This is not a drill. Someone had just been shot. There are shots in the building",' Brundidge said, NBC reported.
As chaos swirled around them, they began to leave their offices to escape the path of danger - and when they entered the hallway, they spotted a man about 40 yards away.
'We were standing right outside the door to go to the exit and we saw a man standing down the hall,' Durham said.
'He was a tall man, appeared to have dark skin, looked like he was in some kind of uniform and he had a rifle. And he aimed at us and shot but missed, thank God.'
Navy Yard worker Patricia Ward told said that she had been in the cafeteria when she heard what sounded like 'pop, pop, pop'.
'Everybody just panicked at first,' she said. 'It was just people running, running, running.'
Another worker described the scenes of chaos as people desperately tried to get out of the building.
'Everyone was going down the stairs, people were pushing, people were shoving, people were falling down,' he told Fox News.
Don Andres, a legislative aide to Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, was driving from his home - which is just a block from the Navy Yard - when he learned something was amiss.
'Folks are scared,' he told MSNBC. 'There was a man lying on the corner... I don't know what happened to him [but] people began running up to him and tending to him.
'People were definitely scared and so was I... There was definitely a sense of panic.'
'No words. He raised the gun and started firing. He said nothing,' witness Todd Brundidge said.
Brundidge and his co-worker Terrie Durham were in the Office of Naval Sea Systems Command on Monday morning when a fire alarm went off, followed by orders to leave the building.
'I was on the phone and someone came up to my desk and said, "This is not a drill. Someone had just been shot. There are shots in the building",' Brundidge said, NBC reported.
As chaos swirled around them, they began to leave their offices to escape the path of danger - and when they entered the hallway, they spotted a man about 40 yards away.
'We were standing right outside the door to go to the exit and we saw a man standing down the hall,' Durham said.
'He was a tall man, appeared to have dark skin, looked like he was in some kind of uniform and he had a rifle. And he aimed at us and shot but missed, thank God.'
Navy Yard worker Patricia Ward told said that she had been in the cafeteria when she heard what sounded like 'pop, pop, pop'.
'Everybody just panicked at first,' she said. 'It was just people running, running, running.'
Another worker described the scenes of chaos as people desperately tried to get out of the building.
'Everyone was going down the stairs, people were pushing, people were shoving, people were falling down,' he told Fox News.
Don Andres, a legislative aide to Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, was driving from his home - which is just a block from the Navy Yard - when he learned something was amiss.
'Folks are scared,' he told MSNBC. 'There was a man lying on the corner... I don't know what happened to him [but] people began running up to him and tending to him.
'People were definitely scared and so was I... There was definitely a sense of panic.'
Shortly after the gunfire, Mason said someone on an overhead speaker told workers to seek shelter and later to head for the gates at the complex.
Patricia Ward, a logistics management specialist, said she was in the cafeteria and heard shots. They sounded like "pop, pop, pop," she said. After a few seconds, there were more shots.
"Everybody just panicked at first," she said. "It was just people running, running, running."
Ward said security officers started directing people out of the building with guns drawn
Police and federal agents from multiple law enforcement agencies responded. Ambulances were parked outside, streets in the area were closed and departures from Reagan National Airport were temporarily halted for security reasons.
Among the wounded was a D.C. police officer, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
A U.S. Park Police helicopter hovered over the building and appeared to drop a basket with a person onto the roof.
Officials at MedStar Washington Hospital Center said two shooting victims had been brought there.
District of Columbia schools officials said six schools and one administrative building in the vicinity of the Navy Yard were placed on lockdown. The action was taken out an abundance of caution, schools spokeswoman Melissa Salmanowitz said.
Janis Orlowski, chief medical officer at George Washington Hospital said that they have taken three people who are seriously injured but have good chances of survival.
The doctor said that all victims are conscious and speaking. She said the first male victim has multiple gunshot wounds to the leg.
The second victim is female and has been shot in the shoulder. The third victim is female and has been shot in the head.
The hospital said that it is expecting to receive more of the injured. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the Navy's five system commands. With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navy's entire budget.
The Navy Yard is along the Anacostia River in Washington, near the headquarters of the Department of Transportation and the Washington Nationals baseball stadium.
Flights were grounded at Washington Reagan National Airport on Monday during the attacks at the Naval Yard
Shooting: The Main Gate into the Washington Navy
Yard lies at the juncture of the Eighth Street axis and M Street in
Southeast Washington
DC Fire EMS units are on the scene. Fire officials say there are victims, but there is no confirmation of numbers
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
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