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Active Shooter at Washington Navy Yard

Aired September 16, 2013 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): All indications are this is a full security response across Washington. The security personnel who regularly work the Navy yard, they, too, practice for these types of emergencies, the FBI, metropolitan, D.C. police certainly in the neighborhood outside the gate. So this is a situation in this day and age we have seen before, but the goal, the absolute goal right now, get to the shooter, figure out what exactly is going on here, take whoever it is or if there is more than one, we don't know, into custody, and get medical care to the injured.

Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Barbara, you stay right there.

I want to go to Mike Brooks. He's our CNN law enforcement analyst. He also worked in the D.C. police department.

How unusual is this, Mike?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Carol, you know, I've responded a number of times to incidents at the Washington Navy Yard when I was with the metropolitan police and also when I was with the FBI's joint terrorism task force for incidents similar to this. We had the chief of naval operations, a number of years ago, came out that there was an attack on the Navy yard, but it wound up it was a general who was -- an admiral who had committed suicide.

But just on what Barbara was staying, you do, they practice, they have field training exercises, table top exercises all the time for incidents like this in the Navy yard, outside the Navy yard. Now, right across the street from the Navy yard, there're on the M Street (ph) southeast, you do have residences. So the metropolitan police first district, they'll be handling all of that. But inside you have D.C. police, fire, EMS. You also have the FBI's joint terrorism task force. I saw some of them arriving on the scene moments ago, along with the Washington field office, FBI S.W.A.T. team that's respond there, along with the metropolitan police emergency response team. I saw their little peacekeeper armored vehicle go by a moment ago. That (INAUDIBLE) of the D.C. police squad team to try to contain this person, find out where that person is. You also see the helicopter overhead from the U.S. Park Police because you heard from (INAUDIBLE) there's a possibility that he could be on the roof. So they want to make sure that they have 360 coverage and are able to try to contain this person.

COSTELLO: Yes, we want to pin down whether this guy's actually on the roof, so let's head to the scene again.

BROOKS: Yes.

COSTELLO: CNN's Todd Sperry is there.

Todd, can you hear me, first of all?

TODD SPERRY, CNN PRODUCER AT SCENE OF SHOOTING: Yes, Carol, I can hear you.

COSTELLO: And what have you heard about this gunman possibly being on the roof?

SPERRY: You know, we are still a couple of blocks north of where the scene is, where the police and the major chaos is shutting down all the activity, so I don't have any reporting on that.

I can tell you that what we have seen are employees en masse coming from the vicinity, walking north getting out of the area. The other thing I've heard people say that there are residence in here, but there's also an elementary school about two blocks north of there. We've seen parents with kids walking out of the area just to be safe.

Now, the vehicles going in, a lot of the type of vehicles that you would see at a S.W.A.T. scene. The S.W.A.T. vehicles, the RVs. Multiple jurisdictions are involved here, so you see all different sorts of FBI, police, metro police and so it's just, in general, pretty chaotic where we are right now. And it's a major area, a major thoroughfare and a lot of residences and schools here.

COSTELLO: I can only imagine.

Paul Courson (ph), are you on the line? Paul Courson? Paul, you there?

All right, we're still having trouble with his cell phone connection.

Let's go to Lou Palumbo (ph), a former New York City police officer.

So there's a possibility this gunman may be on the roof. So what do you do now?

LOU PALUMBO, FORMER NYC POLICE OFFICER (via telephone): Well, you go after him, simply stated. You have to continue to engage in containment, you have to localize where he is and then surgically go in and address him. As you probably may be aware, I'm sure that they already have the schematics or the blueprints of this facility, as large as it is, and they're going in surgically right now, zone by zone so to speak, and identifying anybody who's injured and evacuating those who aren't, who can leave under their own power. And at the same time, they're going in to pinpoint where this individual is.

I - you know, I would think that if this individual was on the roof, for example, of this facility, that there would be some type of addressment (ph). And I'm not going to say like they would come in from a helicopter, for example, and rappelling down to address him, but I know that they're working their way back onto that roof that they feel that he is there. They're basically going to dissect this building for however long it takes them to locate him.

COSTELLO: Yes. And let's go to Barbara Starr again because she knows about this building.

How large is this building, Barbara?

Barbara's on the phone - Barbara's on the phone with her sources gathering more information.

Mike Brooks, do you know the answer to that question, how large this this building?

All right, let's go to Todd Sperry. Are you on the line? Todd Sperry?

SPERRY: Yes, I'm here. I am here.

COSTELLO: OK, Todd, tell us how large this building is. Do you know?

SPERRY: Yes. Well, the Navy yard complex and buildings in there are - you know, it's a mix of historic buildings and a mix of more new, more recent construction. The buildings that you're dealing with -- and I can't see specifically, because I'm here on the scene - I can't see specifically which building you're talking about. But on average, none of them are usually more than about four to eight stories at most and some of the older buildings there, much smaller than that.

There is some new construction. The Department of Transportation is nearby. Those are your more standard office building sizes. So if he's up on top of one of those kind of buildings, he's going to have a higher vantage point, it's going to be a higher level. But again, I'm not there so I -- I'm two blocks north of where they're shutting everything down here.

COSTELLO: I understand. I'm sure police are keeping reporters out of the area right now.

Barbara Starr is back.

Barbara, I'm sorry I interrupted you on the phone with your sources. Did you find anything out for us?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, let me first just correct myself first and foremost. Of course the Washington Navy yard is in southeast Washington along the Anacostia River. Here in the nation's capital, we have two rivers, the Potomac and the Anacostia and the Navy yard is along the Anacostia.

Some people on the scene are reporting there's some photos of people on the ground, but this is a bit confusing to us at the moment. We don't have a lot of information. One person may be getting medical assistance at this point.

As we have been saying now for over an hour, what everyone is waiting for is the information that the shooter has been dealt with one way or the other, apprehended by security forces or dealt with. This is a very large office building, multiple floors, hundreds if not thousands of people working here. So this is tough business to make sure they get in, in a secure fashion, keep everyone in the building who can't get out secure and get to the shooter as fast as they can.

You're seeing that helicopter flying overhead. I have to tell you, here in Washington, when there is a security situation, that happens very quickly. It's a pretty standard security response. Not to say that the shooter is or is not on the roof. We don't really know at this point. But to see helicopters flying overhead and we see it in other cities when situations unfold, but here in Washington, that's a very rapid response to try and get that overhead picture, if you will, of a large area where people are, where people need to respond to and the overall situation.

Because, again, this is a large compound in southeast Washington. Many buildings, entrances, exits in all of those buildings and a perimeter of security around the building, you know, essentially guard forces, checking people in and out of the Navy yard who want to drive onto it. So this is a very complex, but yet in today's age, a very standard response at the moment when they see these types of situations unfold.

Carol.

COSTELLO: I understand.

OK, let's go to our justice correspondent Evan Perez.

Any more word from the FBI about what's going on at the scene?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): No, they're still - they're still trying to get their - get their folks in there and to try to figure out the lay of the land. Now we know that there are people inside the building where the shooting took place who've been able to move to other buildings and - but there - but the problem is, as Barbara has mentioned and the Navy has said on their twitter feed, that there are about 3,000 people who work in this place. It's a very large complex. From the street, from M Street (ph), you don't really quite see, you know, how big this complex is. There's - you know, there's several blocks before you get to the river. So there are people who are now sheltering in place in other buildings that are now essentially locked down while the authorities can get in and try to secure the building where the shooter is reported to be.

As Barbara has mentioned, you know, there are - we're seeing pictures that have now been confirmed from people who are being treated near the scene. There was a -- I'm not sure if that person was necessarily injured by -- in the shooting or if there's something unrelated that happened, but it was a couple blocks away, not far from the metro station.

And, you know, Carol, this is a very, very -- because it's a military area, there's a lot of security. It's very -- it's going to be very interesting to see how exactly this shooter got in here.

Across the street from the Navy yard is a complex of buildings that houses the historic marine barracks. And, you know, we do have, you know, several hundred thousands of Marines who are attached to that base. And so, you know, you often see people in uniform walking around between the Navy yard area and the Marines and their housing complex, which is just a couple blocks from there. So it's going to be interesting to see how exactly this shooter was able to make his way in to a very secure facility.

COSTELLO: And, Evan, as sad as it might seem, this person could be an employee of the U.S. Navy for all we know.

PEREZ: Right. We have no information on that. Right, I mean it's one of those things that at this early stages of these things, you know, we can only - we can only speculate. But, yes, at this - at this point, we don't know how this person was able to get in through what is a very secure gate. It's a very -- as a couple of folks have mentioned, this is a very historic building, a series of buildings, and, you know, there's only a couple ways in. It's essentially built like a fortress. There are, you know, brick walls. Very tall brick walls that surround it, so you can't even see what, you know, most of the buildings inside the complex from the street.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Evan. We're going to listen to a bit to a local affiliate there, their coverage of this event, WJLA. Let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Julie (ph), we're going to try to confirm about the other victims that we're hearing about and get back to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, Natasha, thank you.

And also "The Washington Post" just within the past minute or so reporting that the gunman has barricaded himself in a room. This is why it is so important for anybody in that area to pay attention to this order to stay indoors, especially if you are working at the Navy yard, because they are still trying to get this gunman. Police there on the scene. We know D.C. police are on the scene. Capitol police, park police, military police as well.

Let's go back out to our John Gonzalez (ph). He is on the scene as well.

John, any updates to what you're seeing?

JOHN GONZALEZ, WJLA REPORTER: Well, Julie (ph), you know, just adding to what you're saying, you're absolutely right, that order to stay indoors for people, that lockdown situation right now for people to not go in or out of the buildings if they're outside already. You see down the sidewalk here on L Street, you see the folks -- obviously folks that are dressed to go to work. They were ready to go to work this morning. They're not being allowed any closer in. And just like every corner around this quadrant of the city right now, it is shut down to vehicular traffic. Police have basically stationed themselves at each corner, at each city block, and we're talking D.C. Police being assisted right now with -- by Capitol Police and the ATF. If we spin around here, we've got our media friends over here. Everyone's setting up.

But just beyond them you see the police activity, they've basically stationed themselves. And just beyond there, you see the lights on and you can hear the sirens, I'm sure. There's going to be a D.C. Police officer coming through here. Just a lot of controlled chaos is the best way to put it right now.

When we were driving to the area, it was gridlock, as you can imagine. 295, 695, all of the exit ramps to get into this section of town were closed off. D.C. Police officers standing outside of their vehicles. And the Marine barracks, which isn't far, the Navy yard is over here, the Marine barracks on this side. You have the Marine -- the guards outside armed, stationed outside. They've evacuated that building as a precaution right now. And really the whole area is shut down as this point as a precaution as this active search continues for this gunman at around 8:20 this morning inside.

And we'll show you the scene live here. You see all the fire trucks and the paramedics, the emergency vehicles. More and more vehicles arriving each moment, really, each minute. And it is just a very tense situation as they try to stabilize the scene, control the scene, making sure that no one gets in or out at this hour.

I'll send it back to you for now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, John, thank you so much.

Just within the past minute, the U.S. Navy sending out a tweet that they are confirming several injuries in this Navy yard shooting. They are still saying that more information was to come. So earlier, just about 45 minutes ago, the Navy had said at least one injury. Now they are confirming what we've been learning from D.C. Police that there have been several injuries in this shooting at the Navy yard.

Also, within the past five minutes or go (ph), the FAA updating that there's been a ground stop at Reagan National Airport because of this. We know that there's a heavy police presence in that area. Our traffic reporter Amanda Meadows (ph) had talked about all the roads that are shut down in that area and also talked about the 11th Street Bridge, major, major commuter connection to get in and out of that area on southeast, southwest is shut down because Park Police had to land a helicopter in that area.

We do have multiple crews on the scene. I want to go back out now live to Sam Ford (ph).

Sam, you're on the phone still. What kind of update do you have for us? Sam, are you able to hear me?

OK, we'll try to get reconnected with Sam Ford there on the scene.

But just for anybody who's tuning in now at 9:45 this morning, it was just about 8:20 when there were shots fired at the Navy yard. And because of this, and because it's still the morning kind of rush, a lot of roadways shut down. So we'll head back over to WTOP, check in with our traffic reporter Amanda Meadows for an update.

Amanda.

AMANDA MEADOWS, WTOP TRAFFIC REPORTER: Thank you very much Jimmy -- COSTELLO: All right we're going to jump out of this right now. Evan Perez our justice correspondent is on the phone. You hear what -- the local affiliate reported Evan that the "Washington Post" has reported this gunman has barricaded himself inside a room. There are many conflicting reports coming out of this scene because as that local reporter so aptly put it, it's kind of a scene full of controlled chaos right at the moment. He also mentioned or the local affiliate also mentioned that the U.S. Navy and I checked the tweets, U.S. Navy is now confirming there have been several injuries stemming from this incident. Have you found out any new information about somebody who was injured outside the Navy Yard?

TODD SPERRY, CNN PRODUCER: No, Carol. That's -- it's not clear whether or not that injury that was, that appeared to have been found outside was someone who was inside or who was near the scene when the -- when the shooter got in there. It's that -- that there's a couple of pictures that have been making their way around and we're talking about a couple blocks, a few blocks from the front gate but basically about you know a block or so from the far western end of the -- of the Navy Yard complex. So it could be related, we're not sure.

At this point the local firefighters association which operates its own Twitter feed separate from the D.C. fire department has said that they took someone away with some injuries from the scene there which is at the New Jersey and M Street, which is about a -- about a block away from the far western end of the Navy Yard.

At this point we still are trying to get further information on what the nature of the injuries are, whether there were -- whether these were people inside the building when the shooter started shooting or whether this is someone perhaps on the outside, we're still not sure about that and we're checking that out.

COSTELLO: We're just -- I'm just looking at this incredible police presence right now. This is the latest we have on injury, Evan, just so you know and this is from CNN's Dan Mariga, he says metropolitan police officer, which is a Washington, D.C., police officer, was shot and has been transported to a local hospital. Apparently the shots came from inside the Navy Yard. Of course this Navy Yard is still considered an active scene. The suspect has not been taken into custody yet. Apparently according to "The Washington Post" he's barricaded himself inside a specific room. As you might imagine, most of the city especially in the southeastern portion of Washington, D.C., the city has been shut down.

In fact you see there on our banner there that planes have been halted at Reagan International Airport because of this. What is this picture? Looks like they're evac-ing someone to the hospital right now. Todd Sperry probably can't see a monitor but Evan Perez you can. What do you suppose is happening here?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That yes, Carol, that appears to be the Park police helicopter just lifted what appeared to be someone inside this basket that was -- that was hoisted onto this -- this helicopter and now they're making their way away from the scene. I'm not sure whether or not that's someone who was injured or whether there was -- whether there are some other purpose for it but the park police helicopter was lifting what appeared to be someone inside what is essentially a very large basket that was being hoisted from the ground into the -- into the helicopter and now they have made their way away from the scene.

COSTELLO: Todd Sperry is caught in traffic right around the Navy Yard. Todd, can you tell me what the people -- how the people in the neighborhood are reacting? You said there's an elementary school nearby, there are homes nearby and you could see people leaving the neighborhood.

SPERRY: Yes and I can tell you, Carol, that this is an area that's used to an increase police presence but nothing like this. And I have now gone around the marine barracks. I heard Evan is speaking of that the marine barracks is about two blocks, about 300 or 400 yards north of the entrance to the -- to the Navy Yard and they always have guards there.

But make no mistake there is an increased presence at this point around there; the Marines taking no -- no risk, no chances here. Much more fire power on the street corners here. And let me also tell you the faces of the people that I see walking around out of here, there's definitely concern on the faces. I saw one man trying to explain a little bit to his young children what was going on as they were leaving the school.

So definitely something that people are trying to get away from. And the chopper that just put somebody away in the basket flew right over us here. And so it is definitely a very, very active police scene.

COSTELLO: Yes so far, we know one Washington, D.C., police officer has been hurt. The shots that injured him came from inside the Navy Yard. The U.S. Navy has tweeted out that there were several more injuries although we don't know whether the injuries took place inside the building, outside the building. "The Washington Post" is reporting this gunman has now barricaded himself in one particular room inside this building.

Barbara Starr, are you getting any more information from your sources?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORREPONDENT: Well, Carol, I just I got off the phone with the Navy here at the Pentagon just a couple of minutes ago; they confirmed that this is still what they call an active shooter situation. How do they know that? They tell us that they are getting phone reports from inside the building. They are quite comfortable in telling that to journalists. They want people to know that they are getting the best information they can in this very fluid, very fast-changing situation.

So the latest that the Navy knows is that the shooter still active inside the building.

I want to go back to what so many of my colleagues are saying. I've been on the Washington Navy Yard as so many people from CNN have many, many times. But I have to call ahead. I have to get my car cleared. I have to have an appointment. I have to be able to tell the guard at the gate who I am and why I am going on to the Washington Navy Yard. People who work there have parking passes, have stickers in their cars.

So this is not a place in Washington where someone can just drive on or walk on. This is a secure area. And it sits right in the middle of a Washington neighborhood.

I got an e-mail a couple of minutes ago from our own Linda Roth (ph) one of our very fantastic CNN producers on "THE SITUATION ROOM". She lives in the neighborhood and she wrote to me, the houses are about half a block away plus that elementary school, Linda tells us her neighbors can see all of this from their windows and roof decks.

So this is a situation that is impacting as the minutes take on, so many people across the Washington, D.C. area. Commuters still trying to get in to town, national airport; people who live in the neighborhood impacting the military and really the all-out effort at this hour. Get to the gunman and get those injured people the medical care that they need -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. I want to head back to Todd Sperry now who is nearer to the scene than you are, of course, Barbara you're at the Pentagon making calls to your sources.

Todd, you got as close as the Marine barracks at the U.S. Navy Yard. Are people still evacuating?

SPERRY: You know, there's been less people coming from the south heading north out of the area. I can tell you I do still see some construction workers in the area that are just kind on lookers in the area at this point. The police have drawn their line right across the area where we are and nobody is going to get into that area.

In fact, as we're speaking, some people are trying to cross and the police officer is talking to them but it does appear like they are going a little bit closer into the area than we've seen before. I do know that Metro had shutdown a station nearby and now the reports are that the station has reopened.

So I think it's controlled chaos, when they know that the area is clear they are starting to let people get their lives back a little bit but it's still an active scene.

COSTELLO: And I know you're pretty far away from the actual building where this all is taking place but talk about the police presence inside the Navy Yard.

SPERRY: The police presence? Is that what you said? I'm sorry.

COSTELLO: Yes, sir, the police presence.

SPERRY: Yes, well, I tell you what, the amount of vehicles that have come by, including the SWAT-style vehicles, including the mobile command station and all of the -- the Metro Police Department is out in force right now. And then also you get the other kind of vehicles that you expect that you see in Washington that are coming back -- the unmarked cars, the FBI police vehicles all rolling into the scene all trying to get in and past the traffic that is causing part of the problem because it's rush hour and this is a major area. But it is definitely an area that they have surrounded.

COSTELLO: And just remind people of where -- I know it's in southeast Washington along the Anacostia river. Is it near the new baseball stadium?

SPERRY: it is close to the baseball stadium. Let me kind of give you a 30,000-foot perspective. And I say this as I see a helicopter circling above here and this is a really restricted air space so when you see the helicopter circling above, you know it's probably military or police or something like this. Now, this is an area that is revitalized. It's becoming more popular. It's definitely the Department of Transportation and all the other buildings that have been built have been built in the last five years. There are a lot more people around the Navy Yard than there were five years. So this is a much more busy -- it's a busy area. And then Nats Park is close by. I would say it's half a mile from the Navy Yard itself.

Across the river from this complex is Reagan International Airport. As a precaution -- there are reports the FAA has shutdown -- ground stopped all flights there. So it's a compact, very urban area and lots of people here.

COSTELLO: Barbara Starr, I want to ask you again, what kind of weapon this person supposedly has -- Barbara Starr is not there -- but we understand -- I'll go back to you Todd Sperry -- that this man is armed with a shotgun. Are you able to talk to any police authorities further what exactly they are doing now?

SPERRY: you know, as soon as I'm clear here, I will definitely work my way in and try to get that information for you. And you know, I was telling you earlier, the marine barracks, the higher fire power that was visible there. And as we go back, we saw gunshots, the guards and the marines there had shotguns there. So it's definitely something that I'll try to get back to you on there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. I'm sorry. I know you're on the air with me so it's hard to ask people any questions. I know you got a chance to at least talk to some of the people in that neighborhood about their feelings about this incident. What did they tell you?

SPERRY: well, the people here are definitely used to police presence, motorcades, the lockdowns (inaudible) when there's VIPs in town. This is not something they are used to and it's certainly not something they expected when they were taking their children to school on Monday morning. So some of the people here were just thankful to be getting out of the area and then others were just too, you know, stressed and pain trying to explain it to their kids. So it's mixed emotion but I can say that overall sense is just concern.

COSTELLO: Ok. So Todd Sperry, stand by. In case you are just joining us, this is all going on at the U.S. Navy Yard in building 197. This is a naval facility inside this building. 3,000 people work. Supposedly there is a gunman somewhere inside this building armed with a shotgun. The navy has ordered all employees inside that building to take shelter. That means lock yourself in a closet, in your office, stay put. As far as we know, the authorities are going through that building right now, trying to locate this gunman.

The "Washington Post" did report a little bit ago that the gunman had barricaded himself in one particular room. CNN cannot confirm those reports but that's what we're hearing right now.

I see Brian Todd standing live at the scene. Are you on the phone? I can see you there. What can you tell us?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I'm both on the phone and live. I can hear you over my phone. What we have here is a massive police presence all around this area of southeast Washington, D.C. This is the Navy Yard you see behind me, one of the entrances here. We do have reports of multiple injuries in this shooting. It took place, according to authorities at the Naval Sea System Building, Building 197.

A police officer was reported as being one of the people injured during the standoff. As you mentioned, the shooter is apparently still barricaded in here. We can tell you that Washington D.C. police are here, the National Capitol Police as well as other police jurisdictions with a massive presence circling this Navy Yard area.

This is a very secure area. You can't get on here really without any kind of I.D. or clearance and it takes just -- it's a heavily secured area of this part of Washington, D.C., with walls all around it. So just kind of giving you kind of the lay of the land here, we are on M street and 11th street. And we can hear a police chopper circling above here.

As far as we know, this is still a very fluid situation. They have evacuated part of the Navy Yard but apparently there is a shelter in place for a part of this facility.