Latest on NSA shooting: Driver refused orders to stop
By The Associated Press, Associated Press
Mar 30, 2015 2:01 PM CDT
A Maryland State Police cruiser sits at a blocked southbound entrance on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway that accesses the National Security Agency, Monday, March 30, 2015, in Fort Meade, Md. A spokeswoman at Fort Meade says two people have been injured near a gate to the NSA. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)   (Associated Press)

3:55 p.m.

Authorities aren't saying yet why two men dressed as women tried to enter the National Security Agency's campus at Fort Meade, Maryland without permission shortly before 9 a.m. Monday. But the NSA has issued a statement providing a point by point description of what happened next.

NSA Spokesman Jonathan Freed said in a statement that an agency officer gave the driver "routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus," but the driver disobeyed them, so barriers were deployed.

Freed says the driver then accelerated toward an NSA Police vehicle blocking the road, and that police fired at them when the driver refused to stop, crashing into the police vehicle.

One person inside the unauthorized vehicle died at the scene of causes that were not immediately determined. The other was hospitalized, as was one police officer.

The NSA statement does not mention anyone other than NSA police firing a weapon.

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2:15 p.m.

The National Security Agency says one of its officers fired on a car whose driver refused to obey instructions for safely exiting a restricted area.

An NSA statement says two people were in the vehicle that attempted to make an unauthorized entry to the agency's campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.

The agency says "the driver then failed to obey an NSA Police officer's routine instructions for safely exiting the secure campus. The vehicle failed to stop and barriers were deployed."

The agency says the unauthorized vehicle then accelerated toward an NSA Police vehicle blocking the road, and police fired at them when the driver refused to stop, crashing into the police vehicle.

The agency says one person inside the unauthorized vehicle died at the scene, while the other was taken to a local hospital with injuries. One police officer also was injured and hospitalized.

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1:20 p.m.

Fort Meade's commander says one person was killed and another injured when they tried to drive a vehicle into the National Security Agency portion of the installation without authorization. A statement from Col. Brian Foley says NSA personnel prevented the two from gaining access to the campus of intelligence agencies.

Foley also says that the shooting is contained and under investigation.

He says "the residents, service members and civilian employees at the installation are safe" and that Fort Meade will "continue to remain vigilant at all of our access control points."

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1 p.m.

The FBI is taking the lead investigating a deadly firefight outside Fort Meade, one of the most secure locations near the nation's capital.

The fortified campus includes the National Security Agency, the Defense Information systems Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command. The post is the largest single employer in Maryland, with offices for about 11,000 military personnel and 29,000 civilian employees.

One man was killed and another critically injured after officials said they tried to ram their SUV through a gate that serves as the entrance to the NSA just off the scenic Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Aerial video of the crime scene showed emergency workers loading an injured man in uniform into an ambulance.

Two senior government officials told The Associated Press that one of the men in the dark, unmarked SUV was killed.

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12:45 p.m.

FBI agents from Baltimore are investigating a firefight Monday morning outside a gate at the National Security Agency, where two men dressed as women apparently tried to force their sport utility vehicle past security.

The shooting happened outside the NSA's campus in Fort Meade, Maryland, just off Interstate 295 in Anne Arundel County.

FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson says an "Evidence Response Team" is processing the crime scene and that FBI agents are interviewing witnesses. The FBI will then work with federal prosecutors in Maryland to see if charges are warranted.

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12:40 p.m.

Another building on the NSA campus was damaged by gunfire earlier this month.

Authorities captured a man March 3 who they believe fired that night on the NSA site, as well as earlier at several nearby places and two moving vehicles.

The suspect in that case, Hong Young, told police he heard voices directing him to fire on one of the occupied vehicles.

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12:20 p.m.

A senior defense department official says the two men who tried to ram their sport utility vehicle through a gate at the National Security Agency were dressed as women.

The official says Defense Secretary Ash Carter has been briefed on the situation, which is being investigated by the FBI.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still developing.

FBI spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson says the scene is contained and that it does not appear to be linked to terrorism.

Authorities say at least one of the men in the car has died.

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Noon

Aerial images of the scene at a National Security Agency gate at Fort Meade shows that a white SUV marked "NSA Police" is damaged, with its front end crumpled and the hood up. The other damaged vehicle is a dark, unmarked sport utility vehicle.

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11:50 a.m.

The FBI says the shooting at the NSA gate is not believed to be related to terrorism.

FBI spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson said in an email Monday that the shooting scene is contained. She says the agency is working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted.

Thoreson also says FBI agents are doing interviews with witnesses.