3 Marines killed in shooting at Quantico base
QUANTICO, Va. (AP) - A Marine killed a male and female colleague in a shooting at a base in northern Virginia before killing himself, officials said early Friday.
Authorities were called to the scene at Marine Corps Base Quantico around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, where they found one Marine dead at a barracks, base commander Col. David W. Maxwell told reporters.
Authorities later found a second victim dead, along with the body of the suspected gunman, who died of self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A base spokesman initially described the situation as a standoff. Maxwell said later in the morning that there was no standoff. Base spokesman Lt. Agustin Solivan later clarified that after the first shooting, police had the shooter "isolated" in a barracks dorm room at the base's Officer Candidates School.
No names were immediately released but officials said all three were staff members at the school.
Solivan said the shooting was isolated to the school and authorities were confident there were no other casualties. The base was put on lockdown after the shooting but the lockdown was lifted early Friday. During the lockdown, residents were warned over a loudspeaker to stay inside.
The shooting is the second tragedy the Marine Corps has faced this week. Seven members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force were killed Monday when a mortar shell exploded in its firing tube during an exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. Eight others were injured.
In a statement, Pentagon press secretary George Little said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was saddened to learn of the shooting.
"This tragedy, as well as the tragedy in Nevada earlier this week, took the lives of Marines who volunteered to serve their nation," Little said. "His heart and his prayers are with them and their families."
The Quantico base, which is about 37 miles south of Washington, is also home to the FBI's training academy. Its Officer Candidates School is the equivalent of basic training for Marines interested in becoming officers.
According to a Marine Corps website, the mission of Officer Candidates School is to train, screen and evaluate candidates. The training includes both academics and physical training such as endurance hikes and obstacles courses. Candidates are evaluated on leadership potential as well as moral, physical and academic strengths. Candidates must also demonstrate a grasp of battlefield-tested leadership traits, the website says.
Marines become second lieutenants on graduation from the school's 10-week program.
In 2010, the Quantico base was one of several targets of an ex-Marine reservist who, during five nighttime shootings, fired on military targets including the Pentagon. Yonathan Melaku, on two separate occasions, fired at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico. No one was injured and Melaku was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Authorities were called to the scene at Marine Corps Base Quantico around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, where they found one Marine dead at a barracks, base commander Col. David W. Maxwell told reporters.
Authorities later found a second victim dead, along with the body of the suspected gunman, who died of self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A base spokesman initially described the situation as a standoff. Maxwell said later in the morning that there was no standoff. Base spokesman Lt. Agustin Solivan later clarified that after the first shooting, police had the shooter "isolated" in a barracks dorm room at the base's Officer Candidates School.
No names were immediately released but officials said all three were staff members at the school.
Solivan said the shooting was isolated to the school and authorities were confident there were no other casualties. The base was put on lockdown after the shooting but the lockdown was lifted early Friday. During the lockdown, residents were warned over a loudspeaker to stay inside.
The shooting is the second tragedy the Marine Corps has faced this week. Seven members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force were killed Monday when a mortar shell exploded in its firing tube during an exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada. Eight others were injured.
In a statement, Pentagon press secretary George Little said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was saddened to learn of the shooting.
"This tragedy, as well as the tragedy in Nevada earlier this week, took the lives of Marines who volunteered to serve their nation," Little said. "His heart and his prayers are with them and their families."
The Quantico base, which is about 37 miles south of Washington, is also home to the FBI's training academy. Its Officer Candidates School is the equivalent of basic training for Marines interested in becoming officers.
According to a Marine Corps website, the mission of Officer Candidates School is to train, screen and evaluate candidates. The training includes both academics and physical training such as endurance hikes and obstacles courses. Candidates are evaluated on leadership potential as well as moral, physical and academic strengths. Candidates must also demonstrate a grasp of battlefield-tested leadership traits, the website says.
Marines become second lieutenants on graduation from the school's 10-week program.
In 2010, the Quantico base was one of several targets of an ex-Marine reservist who, during five nighttime shootings, fired on military targets including the Pentagon. Yonathan Melaku, on two separate occasions, fired at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico. No one was injured and Melaku was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison.
People want to say that the government craps on our military but I think they are doing a pretty good job al on their own!! Crapping on eachother that is!
The dead are all junior enlisted marines assigned as instructors at OCS Quantico.
This is a very sad thing to hear. May those OCS Candidates Rest In Peace!
(jeepers) A love triangle? looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...
This sounds more like a personal issue than a "Marines" issue.Â
NCIS case closed Gibbs
Sounds like an issue between 2 men and a woman. Doubt it goes any deeper than that.
OK..get it over with. Someone say this is all due to allowing women in the military, let alone the Marines.
@Alikelystorey Why? There are plenty of mixed sex units. Not everything has been off limits to women. And all of the roles women have served so far, the vast majority has done well with. There HAVE been some disciplinary problems, but it'd be the same in an All Male Military. Bad Apples come in every group, as this article points out.Â
I don't believe in Women being in Combat Arms, just because the majority could not physically handle it and I don't believe in a second set of standards for women in such a role, like they do currently in every other role women have served in. You have to haul an awful lot of gear on your person as an Infantryman. Upwards of 70-100 LBS or more.Â