12 Dead Inside Washington Navy Yard

Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray addresses a scrum of reporters this morning outside the Washington Navy Yard. Image (c) Rob Almeida/gCaptain

UPDATE: 14:30 EST – D.C. Metro Police Chief Cathy Lanier has confirmed 12 fatalities, the U.S. Navy reports.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier addressed a crowd of reporters just after noon today and provided some details into the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard Headquarters.  She confirmed that one of the shooters is deceased and that there are multiple bodies of the deceased inside the Navy Yard.

She reiterated that the area was currently a very active crime scene and that there where possibly two other shooters still at large.

She did not confirm the specific number of casualties, but she did mention that a police officer was shot, and is currently in stable condition.  We were however, able to confirm from a source inside the Navy Yard that Vice Admiral William H. Hilarides, Commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, was not involved in the incident.

Patricia Ward, a witness to the event told us she heard 7 shots coming from the 4th floor of the building and quickly ran outside.

Update: 11:08 AM EST – Authorities looking into possibility of multiple shooters. Only one confirmed at this time.

Update: 10:50 AM EST – Eyewitness said shots rang out from fourth floor of Naval Sea Systems Command building (Bldg. 197).

Update: 10:13 AM EST – A senior Navy official has said at least 12 have been shot, 4 have been killed.

Update: 10:05 AM EST – According to reports at the scene, at least 10 people have been shot. Flights out of Reagan International have been halted. The US Navy reports via Twitter of fatalities.

Update: According to unconfirmed reports from U.S. Capitol police, 4 personnel have been injured including one officer.  The shooter has barricaded himself in one of the rooms in building 197 and the injured personnel are all in critical condition.

Earlier: Reports are now saying upwards of 7 have been injured including two officers.

The US Navy reports this morning that an active shooter was inside the Naval Sea Systems Command building (Bldg. 197) on the Washington Navy Yard at 8:20 a.m. EST.

This building is the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command which leads the U.S. Navy’s engineering, procurement, fleet maintenance programs.

There is one confirmed injury and a “shelter-in-place” order has been issued to all Navy Yard personnel according to a US Navy statement.

The Naval Sea Systems Command’s headquarters is the work place for about 3,000 people.

The organization is comprised of command staff, headquarters directorates, affiliated Program Executive Offices (PEOs) and numerous field activities. Together, we engineer, build, buy and maintain ships, submarines and combat systems that meet the Fleet’s current and future operational requirements.

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the Navy’s five system commands. With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navy’s entire budget. With a force of 60,000 civilian, military and contract support personnel, NAVSEA engineers, builds, buys and maintains the Navy’s ships and submarines and their combat systems.