Two shooters—one described by witnesses as a “tall black man”—have killed four people and wounded at least eight others in an incident at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., that is still ongoing, according to police and news reports.
One shooter is dead, though details haven’t emerged.
As one shooter is still at large, workers at the Navy Yard were told to “shelter in place,” while the morning commute in southeast Washington was thrown into chaos as police and SWAT teams try to take down the man, who was believed to be between the third and fourth floors of one of the buildings.
Other tweets expressed incredulity that a shooter could get inside the well-protected building.
Several employees described the shooter as black. Terry Durham said as she and co-workers were evacuating, a man down the hall raised a rifle and fired toward them, hitting a wall. “He was tall. He appeared to be dark-skinned,” she said.
“He was a tall black guy,” said her co-worker, Todd Brundage, who is black. “He didn’t say a word.”
Because of the shooting, police shut down the 11th Street Bridge, as well as M Street SE between 2nd and 4th streets SE.
The Navy Yard Metro station remained open, while Tyler Elementary School at 10th and G streets in Southeast was on lockdown.
“The president has been briefed several times about the unfolding situation at the Washington Navy Yard by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco and Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromanaco,” a White House official said. “The president directed his team to stay in touch with our federal partners, including the Navy and FBI, as well as the local officials. We urge citizens to listen to the authorities and follow directions from the first responders on site.”
