America
One shot dead trying to enter US military base
Washington, March 31
A person was shot dead by
security personnel, while another was injured when they tried to drive
into the National Security Agency (NSA) campus in the US, without
authorisation, according to media reports on Monday.
The two men,
dressed as women, tried to ram the main gate of the NSA headquarters at
the Fort Meade military installation in the US state of Maryland,
officials said, according to a CNN report.
"Shortly before 9.00
a.m. today (Monday), a vehicle containing two individuals attempted an
unauthorised entry at a National Security Agency gate," Jonathan Freed,
NSA director of strategic communications, said in a statement.
"The
driver 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."
Police fired on the vehicle when it accelerated towards a police car blocking its way, according to the NSA.
One
of the two occupants of the vehicle died on the spot, the report said,
adding that the other was injured and hospitalised. An NSA police
officer also sustained injuries in the incident and was hospitalised.
Investigators
are looking into whether the two intruders were under the influence of
drugs, a federal law enforcement official said.
A man reported
his car stolen from a hotel not far away from the NSA headquarters and
said that he had been with two men who had taken his car. Cocaine was
found in the intruders' vehicle.
The US Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) said on Monday that it was conducting an
investigation with NSA police and other law enforcement agencies, and
interviewing witnesses on the scene.
The FBI said that it did not think that the incident was related to terrorism.
"We
are working with the US Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if
federal charges are warranted," the FBI said in a statement.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said that US President Barack Obama had been briefed on the incident.
This
was the second security incident this month involving the NSA. In early
March, a former state correctional officer was arrested, accused in a
string of Maryland shootings, including one at Fort Meade.