Woman Falls into Hatch at Pentagon Station — Last week a 52-year-old woman fell through a hatch near an escalator at the Pentagon Metro station, injuring her knee and face. Two Metro workers have been fired for their role in leaving the hatch wide open. [WTOP]
GOP Praying for Candidates — The Arlington County Republican Committee is literally praying for candidates to challenge Democrats in the fall. So far, they only have one for more than a dozen local races. [Sun Gazette]
Starting on Monday, April 4, the ART 41 will start running on a new weekday schedule. Buses will now run every 15 minutes during the morning and evening rush hours. Additionally, bus service will start earlier in the morning and end later at night.
Also on Monday, three new rush hour bus trips will be added to the ART 87 route. Three additional buses will leave the Pentagon Metro at 4:35, 5:15 and 5:55 p.m. Those buses will make all the normal outbound stops.
Arlington firefighters are responding to the Pentagon Metro station for smoke in the station.
Initial reports from the scene suggest that leaves and debris on the track caught on fire, causing light smoke to fill the station.
Pentagon Reviewing Change to Security Checkpoints Near Metro Station — At the behest of local transportation officials, Pentagon brass will be reviewing proposed changes to the security checkpoints near the Pentagon Metro Station. The changes, which follow the March shooting that left two security guards wounded and the suspect dead, would move the checkpoints closer to the station. Local officials worry the move could create long security lines that would disrupt the flow of commuters in and out of the station.
Arlington Spy Suspects Transferred to New York — Say goodbye to the (accused) Russian spies who loved Arlington. A judge has ordered that Michael Zottoli, Patricia Mills and Mikhail Semenko be transferred to New York. Attorneys for the three tried to keep them in Virginia, but a federal court judge ordered the transfer yesterday. There’s word that the ten accused spies may be swapped with Russia for an imprisoned nuclear scientist convicted of spying for the United States.
The two Pentagon police officers who were shot during Thursday night’s shooting outside the Pentagon Metro spoke out about their experience on several news programs Monday morning
“We were there to do our jobs and that’s what we did,” one of the officers said on the CBS Early Show.
The Pentagon Metro station fully reopened just after noon today, WMATA has confirmed. The station was temporarily closed to allow the FBI to investigate last night’s shooting.
After parking his car in a nearby garage, Bedell, wearing a business suit, carried two semiautomatic handguns and a large quantity of ammunition with him as he approached a Pentagon entrance outside the Metro station, according to police.
Two Pentagon police officers, both highly-trained former service members, were slightly wounded when Bedell opened fire. The officers, along with a third officer, returned fire, striking and ultimately killing Bedell, according to the Washington Post.
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.
