Al Arabiya

A shooting spree in a U.S. Navy complex on Monday has killed at least 12 people, including that of an unidentified gunman, city police chief Cathy Lanier told reporters Monday.

Lanier said two more potential suspects were still at large after the shooting at the Washington Naval Yard and that the motive of the shooter or shooters was not yet known, AFP reported.

“We are confirming 12 fatalities. We had a few additional victims who were injured. They were not fatally injured,” she said, briefing reporters on a street by the base.

The rampage took place at the Navy Yard in Washington DC. City Mayor Vincent Gray said that as well in addtion to 12 people killed, four people were also injured in the shooting, according to the Associated Press.

“The big concern for us right now is that we potentially have two other shooters that we have not located at this point,” added Lanier.

Lanier said that one suspect was a white male seen with a handgun wearing clothes that resembled a naval uniform.

The police chief described the second suspect as a black male who might have had a “long gun” and was clad in olive-drab, military-style uniform.

However, with many rumors of their appearance, Lanier said the details on the suspects were not confirmed as police searched for the two suspects.

“I will not give a confirmed number at this time, but I’d say we have multiple victims inside that are deceased,” when asked about a death toll.

Eyewitnesses said that a man fired a gun down on a cafeteria from an upper floor and another gunman opened fire in a hallway nearby.

“It was three gunshots straight in a row - pop, pop, pop. Three seconds later, it was pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, so it was like about a total of seven gunshots, and we just started running,” Patricia Ward, an employee at the complex, told reporters, according to AP.

Ward said that security personnel started guiding people out of the building.

U.S. President Barack Obama called the killings a “cowardly act” and said that he is mourning “yet another mass shooting,” according to the Associated Press.

Around 3,000 people work at the headquarters, which is tasked with the construction and purchasing of U.S. warships and combat systems.

The shooting led to increased security at the Capitol buildings that house the U.S. Congress nearby.


(With AFP and AP)