FREDERICK, Md. (NewsNation Now) — A Navy medic shot two people at a Maryland business park Tuesday morning before fleeing to a nearby military base where he was shot and killed by police, officials said.
Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando said Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet, a 38-year-old Navy Petty Officer Third Class, shot two people with a rifle inside a “military institution” at the Riverside Tech Park Tuesday morning.
Lando said one victim remains in critical condition while the second is expected to be released tomorrow.
Police issued a “BOLO report” for officers to watch out for Woldesenbet’s personal vehicle as he drove to nearby Fort Detrick, where he was assigned, according to Brigadier General Michael Talley.
After arriving at Fort Detrick, Woldesenbet was stopped at the gate but sped through before he could be searched, Talley said, and was pursued by a “quick reaction” force which stopped the vehicle at a parking lot inside the base.
The brigadier general said Woldesenbet then “brandished” a weapon and officers opened fire, wounding him, and he was declared dead at the scene after officers rendered first aid for 20 minutes.
Both Lando and Talley said the motive and circumstances of the shooting are under investigation.
“Our number one priority is the safety of our people,” U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick Commander Col. Dexter Nunnally said after the shooting. “Our emergency responders are well trained for these types of situations and the fast response of our military police enabled us to contain this threat quickly.”
Fort Detrick is home to the military’s flagship biological defense laboratory and several federal civilian biodefense labs. About 10,000 military personnel and civilians work on the base, which encompasses about 1,300 acres in the city of Frederick.
By early afternoon, the Nallin Farm gate at Fort Detrick through which the shooter entered remained closed and two officers were standing by.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.