The New York Times reported that a “senior defense official” — they cannot name him as he is not authorized to speak with media about the incident at this time — told them two men dressed as women were in a vehicle that tried to ram the gates at the NSA headquarters.
The complex, in Fort Meade, Maryland, near Washington, was attacked sometime after 9 a.m. local time.
Security engaged the two in a firefight and one of the men was killed, the other wounded. The wounded man was taken to hospital; no word on the extent of his injuries. A security official sustained an arm injury.
“The shooting scene is contained and we do not believe it is related to terrorism,” FBI spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson wrote in an email to media. “We are working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted.”
Television footage showed two damaged SUVs, one of which, a white SUV, had a dented in front-end with a raised hood; that vehicle was clearly marked “NSA Police” on its side. The other vehicle was a black SUV with no identifying features.
Latest reports say the attacking vehicle was at one time stationary and the two men-dressed-as-women inside were being spoken to by a security official. It turned into a firefight as the security official opened fire. It’s unclear what promoted the firefight beyond the attempt to ram the gate.
The NSA released the following statement:
“Just after 9 a.m. today, one person was killed and another injured when they attempted to drive a vehicle into the National Security Agency portion of the installation without authorization,” the agency said. “NSA security personnel prevented them from gaining access to the installation.”
