Police officer and suspect killed in violence outside Pentagon

Pentagon Police Chief Woodrow Kusse was expected to provide a timeline of events, though he has indicated only that “multiple casualties” were sustained and the scene is clear. The violence began shortly before 11 a.m. at the Pentagon Transit Center, which sits feet away from the Pentagon itself in northern Virginia.

At least three people were wounded, including one officer who was later pronounced dead, according to radio transmissions from the Arlington County Fire Department.

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency released a statement saying it “mourns the tragic loss of a Pentagon Police Officer killed during this morning’s incident at the Pentagon. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Officer’s family. Additional info on the officer will be forthcoming, following full next of kin notification.”

Kusse, who dodged nearly all questions from reporters, said his department is not “actively looking for another suspect at this time.” Earlier in the day, some local outlets reported that the person was alive, at large, and boarding a train to the Maryland area.

Law enforcement officials cited by the Associated Press said the suspect, identified as Lanz, ambushed the officer and stabbed him in the neck before he was fatally shot by responding officers.

Lanz spent less than a month in the U.S. Marine Corps. He enlisted in October 2012 before getting “administratively separated,” and he never earned the title Marine, the branch said in a statement.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin extended his “deepest sympathies to the family, loved ones and colleagues of the Pentagon Force Protection Officer who died” in a statement. He also ordered the flags to be flown at half-staff.

“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. He and his fellow officers are members of the Pentagon family, and known to us all as professional, skilled and brave,” Austin said. “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.”

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Virginia Sen. Mark Warner lamented the death of the officer.

“I’m incredibly saddened to learn about the passing of a Pentagon police officer, who was killed earlier this morning in a senseless act of violence outside the Pentagon,” he wrote in a tweet. “My heart goes out to the officer’s family and friends, as well as the entire Pentagon Police force.”

The Pentagon was placed on lockdown for a short time before the order was lifted.

“The Pentagon currently is on lock down due to an incident at the Pentagon Transit Center,” the Pentagon Force Protection Agency wrote in a tweet. “We are asking the public to please avoid the area. More information will be forthcoming.”

An hour later, it added, “The scene of the incident is secure. It is still an active crime scene.” The agency requested people stay away from the area of the shooting.

Officers were seen performing CPR on at least two people, according to video of the incident. The development was witnessed by a Washington Examiner reporter who heard multiple rounds of gunfire.

The Washington Examiner reporter who heard the shots was emerging from the metro station at the time of the gunfire. Nearby law enforcement officers whisked him and others behind a barricade before they were ushered into the Visitor’s Center in a crawl.

Shortly thereafter, law enforcement officers brought an injured male into the visitor’s entrance lobby, where he received medical attention. The person was taken off a stretcher later and had gauze wrapped around his head.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were not inside the building during the attack.