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1 Person Killed After Car Tried To Ram Security Gate At NSA

After a car attempted to crash a gate outside the NSA Monday morning, Maryland state police blocked the freeway entrance that accesses the agency's headquarters in Fort Meade, Md.
Patrick Semansky
/
AP
After a car attempted to crash a gate outside the NSA Monday morning, Maryland state police blocked the freeway entrance that accesses the agency's headquarters in Fort Meade, Md.

A car that was intercepted near the security gate of the National Security Agency's headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., was fired upon Monday morning, in a clash that left one of the car's occupants dead.

Authorities tell NPR's Dina Temple-Raston that after two suspects tried to ram a vehicle into the entrance gate, one suspect was shot dead and the other was injured by NSA security guards.

The violence took place in Anne Arundel County, where officials say the investigation is being handled by NSA police. Fort Meade lies between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md.

Aerial photos from the scene show two damaged vehicles — a police SUV and a Ford Escape — sitting in a small intersection near the NSA gates. Around them, the asphalt is littered with debris.

Washington D.C.'s NBC 4 News says the suspects are men who disguised themselves as women — details that law enforcement officials later confirmed.

The station adds, "At least one gun and drugs were found in the stolen Ford Escape the men were riding in."

Update at 1:15 p.m. ET: FBI Statement On Possible Charges

The FBI says:

"The shooting scene is contained, and we do not believe it is related to terrorism. We are investigating with NSA Police and other law enforcement agencies. Our Evidence Response Team is processing the crime scene, and FBI special agents are doing joint interviews with witnesses. We are working with the US Attorney's Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.