The strange incident occurred at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, and the suspects apparently stole the car from a motel in Maryland. A man gave the two suspects a ride from Baltimore before checking into the Terrace Motel in Jessup, write Scott Broom and Garrett W. Haake for 10 News.
Men dressed as women stole SUV from motel
The victim was seen running out of his room around 8.30 a.m., screaming that “two transvestites” had stolen his SUV. Howard County Police have since confirmed that a call was received concerning a stolen vehicle from the motel at around that time.
Around half an hour later the two men approached the front gate of the NSA complex in the stolen SUV. The driver refused to comply with the NSA Police officer’s instructions to leave the area, so the officer blocked the road with his vehicle. The driver of the stolen SUV accelerated towards him, and officers fired shots at the vehicle, which subsequently crashed into the police car.
Witnesses have claimed that there was an exchange of fire before the crash, but it is not yet known whether the two men fired a weapon. However they were later found to have been in possession of a firearm, as well as a small amount of cocaine, at the time of the incident.
One dead, two injured after incident at NSA headquarters
The as-yet-unidentified driver of the stolen vehicle was shot and killed by NSA police, while passenger Kevin Fleming was critically injured. An NSA officer was also injured and taken to a local hospital.
News footage showed a damaged NSA police vehicle as well as a damaged, dark-colored SUV. FBI agents based in Baltimore are investigating the incident, but so far do not believe that it is related to terrorism.
“We are investigating with NSA Police and other law enforcement agencies. Our Evidence Response Team is processing the crime scene, and FBI Agents are doing joint interviews with witnesses. We are working with the US Attorney’s Office in Maryland to determine if federal charges are warranted,” read a written statement from FBI officials.
Further details on the incident are sure to emerge over the next few days, but at this point there are a lot of unanswered questions. There aren’t many instances that cocaine, firearms and cross-dressing thieves combine during an attempted assault on a government agency.