Shots were fired Monday after a car tried to ram the gates at the headquarters of the National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, authorities said.
BREAKING: Shooting at NSA HQ at Fort Meade, MD. At least 2 peopleinjured after a car tried to ram the gate.
One person was shot dead and two others injured in the incident, which occurred shortly before 9 a.m., NSA Director for Strategic Communications Jonathan Freed said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
NSA Police on scene of a police involved shooting after somone reportedly tried to ram entrance gate @ Ft Meade, Md.
"Shortly before 9 a.m. today, a vehicle containing two individuals attempted an unauthorized entry at a National Security Agency gate," Freed said.
"The driver failed to obey an NSA Police officer's routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus. The vehicle failed to stop and barriers were deployed."
"The vehicle accelerated toward an NSA Police vehicle blocking the road. NSA Police fired at the vehicle when it refused to stop. The unauthorized vehicle crashed into the NSA Police vehicle."
Ricky Shawatza Hall, 27, died at the scene, the FBI said in a statement issued Tuesday. The passenger, who officials identified to the New York Times as Kevin Fleming, 20, was injured.
An NSA police officer was also injured and taken to the hospital, Freed said.
Images from local media show a damaged black SUV and what appears to be a body with a sheet draped over it.
UPDATE: Photos from local media show what appears to be a dead body near #NSA gate #FortMeade http://t.co/vXJXVQwFLi
Images also showed at least one uniformed agent being loaded into an ambulance.
#BREAKING: 1 dead after crashing gates near NSA, officials say http://t.co/xRREIvuVZf #NSA
In a statement, FBI Baltimore spokesperson Amy Thoreson said the incident is not believed to be related to terrorism:
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.
The men were dressed as women when they rammed the gate with their car, according to multiple reports.
A spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department told the Associated Press that the vehicle had been stolen Monday morning from a hotel in Jessup, Maryland. She declined to release any more information, however, citing the ongoing investigation.
The Fort Meade base is home to the NSA, as well as several other Department of Defense organizations. Approximately 11,000 military personnel serve at the base, alongside 29,000 civilian employees, according to the Fort Meade website.
