NSA Shooting: 3 In Custody After Fort Meade Crash, No Terror Link

FORT MEADE, MD — Authorities say three people are in custody — while a police officer and a civilian were injured — after a shooting Wednesday morning at Fort George G. Meade, home to the National Security Agency and other cyber operations. The FBI is investigating why an SUV drove up to an NSA gate, then tried to leave. TV footage from the scene showed the SUV had bullet holes in the windshield, but none of the injuries came from gunshots.

After 7 a.m., the vehicle tried to drive into the secure campus without authorization, according to a statement from the NSA. At an afternoon briefing by the FBI, the vehicle was described as a rental that ended up at the gate, crashed through it, and then tried to leave. In the process, one person in the SUV, a police officer and a bystander were injured, none seriously, said an FBI spokesman.

"Weapons were discharged in the course of the incident," the NSA statement said. Authorities said it appears that the shots fired came from NSA officers shooting at the SUV. Investigators are still trying to determine if there were weapons in the SUV or if the people in the vehicle were armed.

What led the SUV onto the NSA compound is still being looked at. Federal authorities say they have no reason to believe the incident is tied to terrorism.

TV images showed the SUV with apparent gunshot damage, along with a man in handcuffs seated nearby. Several people were taken from the scene to area hospitals, but officials said that preliminary information indicated there were no injuries attributed to gunfire. The FBI is leading the investigation into the incident.

Fort Meade garrison spokeswoman Cheryl Phillips told the Associated Press that one person was injured in the incident outside the base.

WRC TV said bullet holes could be seen in the SUV’s front window, and several air bags were deployed. Blood-stained material could be seen on the ground.

Terrorism was not suspected in the confrontation at the site of the intelligence-gathering agency.

The driver was not targeting the base, and appeared to have crashed into the gate and then made an attempt to get away, according to WTOP.

“NSA police and local law enforcement are addressing an incident that took place this morning at one of NSA’s security vehicle entry gates. The situation is under control and there’s no ongoing security or safety threat,” according to a statement the NSA issued after 9 a.m.

President Donald Trump has been “briefed on the shooting at Ft. Meade,” and the White House offered thoughts and prayers with those who have been affected, NSA spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said.

Anne Arundel County Police said the department is assisting the Fort Meade Fire Department with an incident at NSA. No additional information is available. Police referred questions to NSA and Fort Meade Public Affairs.

The FBI's Baltimore office said it is aware of the incident at Fort Meade and is sending personnel to respond at this time.

In March 2015, one person died in a shootout at the NSA gates. Friends said Ricky Shawatza Hall of Baltimore, who identified as a woman, went by the name Mya, and had a criminal record for prostitution and robbery may have panicked when making a wrong turn into the NSA entrance while driving a stolen vehicle. Hall died at the entrance to the NSA campus after a shootout with guards, according to the FBI.

Hall drove a stolen Ford SUV to the NSA gate and "failed to obey an NSA Police officer's routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus," the FBI said in a statement. Instead, the SUV accelerated toward an NSA police vehicle, officers fired and Hall was pronounced dead at the scene, the FBI said. A passenger and an NSA officer were injured in the fracas.

Hall may have taken the exit for the NSA by mistake while driving on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway/MD 295, which happens "all the time" to those who don't travel that way often and misread the brown sign, according to The Capital. Before turning around, drivers must proceed to the heavily guarded security checkpoint.

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In this image made from video and provided by WUSA TV-9, authorities investigate the scene of a shooting at Fort Meade, Md., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. A suspect has been held, taken from the black SUV that stopped at barrier after a shooting outside National Security Agency. (WUSA TV-9 via AP). Additional image via Shutterstock.