Police officer killed, suspect shot dead outside Pentagon
- Police officer dies after being stabbed in neck at bus stop
- Attacker with criminal record shot dead, FBI investigating
A police officer was killed at the Pentagon’s mass transit terminal on Tuesday in an incident that forced the lockdown of the US military headquarters.
Employees in the Pentagon building in Arlington, a suburb of Washington, were ordered to shelter in place for more than an hour after gunfire erupted in the bus and subway station just metres from the entrance.
The suspect was shot by law enforcement and died at the scene. Officials said the site was secure 90 minutes after the incident.
The ensuing violence, which included a volley of gunshots, resulted in “several casualties”, said Woodrow Kusse, the chief of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, which is responsible for security in the facility.
The suspect was identified by multiple law enforcement officials as Austin William Lanz, 27, of Georgia.
The officer was ambushed by Lanz, who ran at him and stabbed him in the neck, according to two of the law enforcement officials. Responding officers then shot and killed Lanz. Investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the attack and were digging into Lanz’s background, including any potential history of mental illness or any reason he might want to target the Pentagon or police officers.
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The officials could not discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lanz had enlisted in the US Marine Corps in October 2012 but was “administratively separated” less than a month later and never earned the title Marine, the Corps said in a statement.
Lanz was arrested in April in Cobb County, Georgia, on criminal trespassing and burglary charges, according to online court records. The same day, a separate criminal case was filed against Lanz with six additional charges, including two counts of aggravated battery on police, a count of making a terrorist threat and a charge for rioting in a penal institution, the records show.
Tuesday’s attack on a busy stretch of the Washington area’s transportation system jangled the nerves of a region already primed to be on high alert for violence and potential intruders outside federal government buildings, particularly following the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
The FBI confirmed only that it was investigating and there was “no ongoing threat to the public” but declined to offer details or a possible motive.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed his condolences and said flags at the Pentagon will be flown at half-staff.
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“This fallen officer died in the line of duty, helping protect the tens of thousands of people who work in - and who visit - the Pentagon on a daily basis,” Austin said in a statement. “This tragic death today is a stark reminder of the dangers they face and the sacrifices they make. We are forever grateful for that service and the courage with which it is rendered.”
In 2010, two officers with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency were wounded when a gunman approached them at a security screening area. The officers, who survived, returned fire, fatally wounding the gunman, identified as John Patrick Bedell
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
