FBI Identifies Man Killed in Fort Meade Shooting

The FBI has identified the person killed Monday outside the National Security Agency as a Baltimore man who is reportedly a transgender individual with a criminal record.

Ricky Shawatza Hall, 27, of the 2200 block of North Charles Street in Baltimore City, was pronounced dead at the entrance to the NSA campus after a shootout with guards, according to the FBI.

Neighbors told WNEW that Hall lived in a vacant Baltimore rowhouse with several other men who dressed as women, and he usually wore wigs, tight pants, makeup and earrings.

From 2007 to 2011, Hall was charged with prostitution three times, The Daily Beast reported.

He was dressed as a woman Monday morning when he drove a stolen Ford SUV to the NSA gate before 9 a.m. and “failed to obey an NSA Police officer’s routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus,” the FBI said in a statement.

Instead, he accelerated toward an NSA police vehicle, officers fired and he was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said.

He 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.

While the FBI reported Tuesday that a motive was unknown, Hall had reason for wanting to elude police.

For one, police said Hall and his passenger in the Ford Escape—identified as Kevin Fleming, 20—had stolen the vehicle from a man who drove them from Baltimore to the Terrace Motel in Elkridge.

Hall was also in court last month for a parole violation stemming from a robbery charge, according to The Daily Beast. His lawyer said he considered himself transgender and asked to be referred to as a female.

• Cross-Dressers Stole Vehicle from Elkridge Motel Before NSA Showdown
• Drinking, Drug Use Preceded NSA Shootout
• Men Disguised as Women in Deadly Shootout at NSA Gate

Hall’s passenger, Fleming, was hospitalized with critical injuries as a result of the standoff at the NSA gate, according to ABC News.

An NSA police officer was treated and released from an area hospital Monday as well, the FBI reported.

Federal officials are continuing to investigate the incident, which was the second time a civilian has opened fire at the Fort Meade campus, where the NSA is located, this month. A former corrections officer who has since been linked to multiple shots fired incidents allegedly shot an NSA building at Fort Meade on March 3.

The FBI provided this statement Tuesday about the status of its investigation into the March 30 shooting:

“There is no information being released at this time regarding motive; however, FBI Baltimore does not believe this is related to terrorism.

“The men were dressed as females but not in an attempt to disguise themselves from authorities.

“FBI Baltimore and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland are still working to determine if any federal charges will be filed...FBI agents and members of the FBI Evidence Response Team are conducting interviews, following leads, and collecting evidence as part of the ongoing investigation.”

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