Guards shot one man dead and seriously wounded a second when two men tried to ram a vehicle into the entrance gate at the Fort Meade, Maryland, headquarters of the National Security Agency, on Monday, CNN reported. The network cited law enforcement sources. The local NBC News affiliate reported two damaged vehicles were seen outside the installation's gate about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Washington, and that emergency workers attended to an injured man and put him into an ambulance.
In a post on Twitter, the county's police department referred questions to the NSA and Fort Meade, adding that it was "not involved at this point."
#NSAShooting @AACoFD provided mutual aid assistance to @FortMeadeMD FD. ALL information requests should go to Fort Meade Public Affairs.
— Anne Arundel Fire (@AACoFD) March 30, 2015
BBC reports that around 40,000 people work at Fort Meade. According to the US Army, there are 11,000 military personnel and 29,000 civilians who work at Fort Meade.
NBC Washington reports that the guard at the gate got into a fight with the two men. The altercation led to exchange of gunfire in which one of the men was shot by the guard while the other was injured. Reports suggest that the two men in the vehicle were dressed as women.
NBC News reports that the men were using a stolen Ford Escape and one gun and drugs were found in the car.
CNN reports that the FBI will be conducting an investigation into the incident along with NSA police and other agencies.
Amy J Thoreson, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said —
"FBI Baltimore is investigating a shooting incident which occurred this morning at a gate at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade just off I-295 in Anne Arundel County, MD. The shooting scene is contained and we do not believe it is related to terrorism. We are investigating with NSA Police and other law enforcement agencies. Our Evidence Response Team is processing the crime scene, and FBI Agents are doing joint interviews with witnesses. We are working with the US Attorney’s Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted. We have no further information at this time to release.
NBC television footage showed a large police presence and at least one damaged vehicle.
The Washington Post said police at Fort Meade, a US Army base in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, confirmed that the incident happened on the NSA side of the installation but gave no other details.
UPDATE: One man dead, another injured after shootout outside of NSA headquarters at Fort Meade http://t.co/6BjhI6ajjs pic.twitter.com/x1lRvlBxVR
— ABC News (@ABC) March 30, 2015