A gunman opened fire at a US military recruiting center in Tennessee on Thursday and at least one police officer was shot, the mayor of the city of Chattanooga said.
Local NBC affiliate WRCB reported that four members of the military were also shot in the incident that erupted in the late morning, but that report was not yet confirmed by authorities.
Police said on Twitter that the "active shooter situation is over," and further details were expected at an upcoming press conference.
"We have an officer down," Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke told reporters, without specifying if the victim was dead. "The suspect is also down."
CBS News reported that the shooter was dead and that the police officer was shot in the leg.
Erica White witnessed the shooting through the window of a hair salon two doors down from the recruiting center.
"We heard one pop, really loud pop. So we went to the door to see what it was," White told CNN. "We saw a guy in a silver Mustang just unloading on the naval recruiting place."
White said she watched in horror as the man reloaded his gun and opened fire again. He then backed up his car, pulled up to another part of the recruiting center and started shooting again.
"We're all shook up," she said. "Never expected something like this."
The incident was reminiscent of a 2009 shooting at a recruiting center in Arkansas in which one soldier was killed and another injured.
The US Navy tweeted that it could confirm there was a shooting at a recruiting building in Chattanooga.
It said the shooting did not affect the nearby naval reserve base.
The base was placed on lockdown following the shooting, as were a local college, area businesses and government offices.
Local media published images of police officers crouching behind their cars with rifles drawn as they sought to take down the shooter.
Bullet holes could be seen in the windows of the recruiting center and shell casings littered the parking lot.
Local media initially reported that gunshots were also heard on the naval base and another location. However, it appears the shooting was limited to the recruiting center and that the gunman was taken down at a second location.
A gunman opened fire at a US military recruiting center in Tennessee on Thursday and at least one police officer was shot, the mayor of the city of Chattanooga said.
Local NBC affiliate WRCB reported that four members of the military were also shot in the incident that erupted in the late morning, but that report was not yet confirmed by authorities.
Police said on Twitter that the “active shooter situation is over,” and further details were expected at an upcoming press conference.
“We have an officer down,” Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke told reporters, without specifying if the victim was dead. “The suspect is also down.”
CBS News reported that the shooter was dead and that the police officer was shot in the leg.
Erica White witnessed the shooting through the window of a hair salon two doors down from the recruiting center.
“We heard one pop, really loud pop. So we went to the door to see what it was,” White told CNN. “We saw a guy in a silver Mustang just unloading on the naval recruiting place.”
White said she watched in horror as the man reloaded his gun and opened fire again. He then backed up his car, pulled up to another part of the recruiting center and started shooting again.
“We’re all shook up,” she said. “Never expected something like this.”
The incident was reminiscent of a 2009 shooting at a recruiting center in Arkansas in which one soldier was killed and another injured.
The US Navy tweeted that it could confirm there was a shooting at a recruiting building in Chattanooga.
It said the shooting did not affect the nearby naval reserve base.
The base was placed on lockdown following the shooting, as were a local college, area businesses and government offices.
Local media published images of police officers crouching behind their cars with rifles drawn as they sought to take down the shooter.
Bullet holes could be seen in the windows of the recruiting center and shell casings littered the parking lot.
Local media initially reported that gunshots were also heard on the naval base and another location. However, it appears the shooting was limited to the recruiting center and that the gunman was taken down at a second location.
