A county traffic engineer was seriously injured in an accident on Columbia Pike around 10:30 this morning.
The engineer was in a cherry picker, working on the traffic lights at the intersection of the Pike and South Wakefield Street, when a moving van clipped a part of his truck, according to Arlington police spokesperson Det. Crystal Nosal.
Update at 9:00 p.m. — This article is presented as first published. Police now say the man shot himself as soon as officers arrived on the scene.
“He just told me my baby is dead!” the mother wailed out, as neighbors watched from across the parking lot. A detective just broke the news that her son had been shot and was lying dead on a sidewalk. Another detective allowed a family member he was questioning go console her.
Police were called to S. Quincy St. and 12th St. S., near Randolph Elementary School, for a report of a man in his 20s or 30s with a gun. A call for “shots fired” went out shortly thereafter.
Police are now reporting the suspect has been shot in the head and is dead on the scene. No word yet on who fired the shots.
A van flipped on its side at the exit from westbound I-66 to Route 267 (Dulles Toll Road). All lines of westbound I-66 are blocked, and traffic is being diverted onto Route 267.
Traffic on I-66 is currently backed up all the way to Glebe Road in Arlington.
A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on N. Glebe Road and Pershing Drive around 10:00 Thursday night. The victim’s injuries may be life-threatening, authorities said.
Police said the victim was unconscious and bleeding from the head when they arrived.
The Pentagon Metro will be closed Friday morning as the FBI investigates Thursday night’s shooting. It’s not known when the station will reopen.
Meanwhile, CBS News is reporting that the suspect in the shooting has died. The suspect was shot in the head by police after he shot two officers, various news outlets have reported.
The press conference outside the Pentagon Metro station has revealed new details about tonight’s shooting. Pentagon police chief Richard Keevill said that a lone shooter approached officers manning a checkpoint near an entrance to the station, calmly drew a hand gun, and opened fire.
He “did not say a word,” Keevill said.
The Pentagon is currently holding a press briefing on tonight’s shooting. Here’s a statement issued by the DoD:
“A shooting incident has occurred at the Pentagon Metro Entrance this evening at approximately 6:40 p.m. EST. Two Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) officers were injured when an unknown suspect fired at them. The suspect was injured in return fire from the PFPA officers. Injuries to the two PFPA officers do not appear to be life threatening. A suspect is in custody and his condition is unknown [update: ‘very critical’]. All three injured have been taken to a local hospital. All Pentagon entrances were secured for a brief time but have since been reopened with the exception of the Pentagon Metro entrance. The incident is under investigation. More details will be released when available.”
Pentagon Police will be holding a press briefing at 8:45. Local and network TV news crews have staged in the Pentagon’s south lot, near the Metro station.
Three people have been shot at the Pentagon Metro station, according to police. Witnesses say they heard at least a half dozen shots fired, then saw people ducking and running from outside the crowded Metro station. News agencies are reporting that two of the victims are police officers. The third victim is believed to be the shooter. The victims are being taken to George Washington University hospital.
Police have blocked off all entrances to the Pentagon reservation. Metro buses that were at the Pentagon at the time have been evacuated.
Jorge “George” Torrez, a 21-year-old Marine stationed at Fort Myer’s Henderson Hall, was arrested over the weekend and charged in the Feb. 10 attempted abduction of a woman from the 1700 block of N. Quincy Street.
Torrez is also suspected in the abduction, sexual assault and near-fatal beating of a woman from N. Wakefield Street in Ballston early Saturday morning, according to police.
Officers from Falls Church and from Arlington and Fairfax counties swarmed the parking lot after the call, which came in around 12:30 AM. Responding officers disbursed a crowd of several hundred people, according to Maj. Mary Gavin of the Falls Church Police Department.
