Man dies after shooting Pentagon security officers

The bus station outside of the Pentagon in Washington is seen after a shooting,


A police officer gets out of his car at a roadblock around the Pentagon in Washington


Pentagon Police Chief Richard Keevill talks to the media outside of the Pentagon in Washington,


A police officer directs traffic at a roadblock around the Pentagon in Washington,


Pentagon Police Chief Richard Keevill talks to the media outside of the Pentagon in Washington


A man apparently planning to enter the Pentagon walked up to police officers guarding the doors, pulled out a gun and opened fire Thursday evening, shooting two officers before being mortally wounded himself.

The gunfight took place about 6:40 p.m., yards from the entrance to the giant Defense Department installation as workers were heading home, police said. Employees were ordered back to their offices and the building was locked down for a time, with no one allowed in or out.

"He walked up, very cool. He had no distress, no emotion in his face," said Richard S. Keevill, chief of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the civilian police agency that guards the five-sided building. "When he reached in his pocket, they assumed he was going to get his [building] pass out. He came out with a gun."

The gunman began firing, grazing the two officers, who returned fire. The officers and the shooter were taken to a local hospital. The officers' injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Early Friday, the D.C. medical examiner's office said the gunman had died, and it identified him as John Patrick Bedell, 36, the Associated Press said. He was reportedly from California.

The area just outside the Pentagon has a lot of commuters, serving as a transit hub for the Washington Metro railway system and many of the region's buses. The Metro station is one of the busiest in the Washington-area system, with thousands of commuters passing through, transferring from trains to buses.

The Metro entrance is just outside the doors of the Pentagon, meaning anyone can approach the building from the Metro. A force of officers guards the entrance during working hours, and people who work inside must flash badges before entering. Those without badges are ushered to a metal detector to be searched, then are escorted inside.

Officials did not identify the officers or, initially, the armed man.

"We have layers of security, and it worked," Keevill said. "He never got inside the building to hurt anyone."

The Associated Press said investigators were speaking with a second man who might have accompanied the shooter.

Keevill said the gunman was believed to be an American citizen. Officials refused to speculate on his motives.

"We just do not have enough information on the suspect to make those determinations this evening," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

But Whitman agreed with Keevill that the gunman was trying to get inside.

"He was obviously trying to gain entrance," Whitman said.

Police said no words were exchanged between the gunman and the officers before shots began flying, sending commuters screaming and scrambling for cover, witnesses told local television news stations.

Keevill said the officers were wearing protective vests. He would not describe the assailant's clothing. Keevill would not say whether the man was a Defense Department employee.

Police said a third officer was involved in the incident, but did not say in what way.

President Obama was closely following the case, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

The incident comes about four months after a gunman opened fire at Ft. Hood Army base in Texas, killing 13 and wounding dozens. The suspect in that case is an Army psychiatrist with links to radical Islam; he is in custody.

The only Pentagon police officer to die in the line of duty was James M. Feltis III, who in 2005 was struck by a stolen car driven by a man fleeing police.

Two Pentagon security officers were wounded on Thursday when a gunman shot them at the entrance to the giant U.S. Defense Department headquarters beside a commuter rail station, officials said.

The gunman, who was also shot and wounded, was apparently trying to gain entry to the building, Pentagon police chief Richard Keevill told reporters.

"He walked up very cool," Keevill said. "He had no real emotion on his face."

The Washington Post, citing two federal law enforcement sources, identified the shooting suspect as John Patrick Bedell, 36.

Instead of presenting a Pentagon pass, which is required to enter the Defense Department headquarters, the gunman pulled out a gun, Keevill said. Three Pentagon security officers exchanged fire with the suspect, and two were wounded.

The underground Metro station is adjacent to the main entrance of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington.

The security officers' wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, Pentagon officials said in a statement, adding that the suspect was in custody but his condition was not known.

All entrances to the five-sided building were closed after the shooting at 6:40 p.m. during the evening rush hour. The entrances were later reopened, except the one adjacent to the Metro station.