Politics
NEW: CIA Headquarters Barricaded After Armed Stand Off
A man who was allegedly armed with a firearm outside of CIA headquarters in Northern Virginia was taken into custody on Wednesday after an hours-long standoff with police.
The incident began shortly after 10 a.m. when the suspect allegedly started making threats outside the agency’s headquarters in McLean, Virginia. The suspect also allegedly pointed the weapon at the building, according to a report from local outlet WJLA.
No shots were fired and no injuries were recorded as a result of the incident, law enforcement officials told the outlet. Several law enforcement agencies responded to the threat, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Fairfax County Police Bomb Squad.
“Members of the FBI Washington Field Office’s National Capital Response Squad and other FBI resources have been deployed to assist our law enforcement partners in response to an incident outside CIA Headquarters,” the FBI Washington Field Office said in a statement
The massive police presence continued for several hours as police negotiated with the suspect. The Fairfax County Police department described the standoff as a “barricade incident” and urged agency employees to remain vigilant. Roads in the area were also shut down for several hours due to the heavy law enforcement response.
Not much is known about the suspect or their motive as of this report, though he reportedly aimed the weapon at his own head during the standoff. He eventually turned himself over to investigators shortly after 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, investigators said.
A CIA spokesperson said law enforcement responded to an “incident” outside the CIA headquarters and said the agency will be leading the investigation. “Additional details will be made available as appropriate,” the spokesperson said.
The CIA’s Virginia headquarters has been the target of multiple terrorist attacks. In 1993, two Pakistani nationals shot and killed two CIA employees while they were waiting at a stoplight and wounded three others.
Mir Aimal Kansi, the perpetrator of the attack, then fled the country before he was captured near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in 1997.
