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Navy Corpsman Suspected of Shooting 2 Victims Is Dead at Fort Detrick Maryland Military Lab Site

Graham Cullen | The Frederick News-Post | AP
  • A Navy hospital corpsman who had shot and critically wounded two people at a Maryland office park was shot and killed several miles away in Fort Detrick, the main site of the U.S. Army's biological defense program.
  • "The U.S. Navy can confirm there was an active shooter incident at Fort Detrick, MD involving U.S. Navy Sailors," a Navy spokesman said in a statement.
  • Police said the two victims suffered life-threatening injuries and were flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

A Navy hospital corpsman who shot and critically wound two people at a Maryland office park was himself shot and killed Tuesday morning several miles away in Fort Detrick, the site of the U.S. Army's biological defense program center, officials said.

Local police in Frederick, Maryland, separately said they had responded to an "active shooter" at a commercial business address in that city about 4 miles away from Fort Detrick.

"Currently there are two victims and one suspect is down," police said.

The 38-year-old suspect, later identified by officials as Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet, traveled to Fort Detrick after the shooting at Riverside Technology Park in Frederick, Maryland.

A Fort Detrick spokesman said that the gunman breached a gate at the facility, where he was shot by military police. Woldesenbet received medical attention, but was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

"Our number one priority is the safety of our people," said U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick Commander Col. Dexter Nunnally. "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."      

A Navy spokesman said in a statement: "The U.S. Navy can confirm there was an active shooter incident at Fort Detrick, MD involving U.S. Navy Sailors."

"The shooter, a Navy Hospital Corpsman, is deceased. We will continue to update with additional details as the situation evolves," the spokesman said.

Police said that the two victims suffered life-threatening injuries and were flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Woldesenbet was a hospital corpsman 3rd class, Navy records show, and since 2012 spent time at military medicine training centers and facilities in Virginia, Washington, Texas, Illinois and North Carolina. He was stationed at Fort Detrick but lived in Frederick.

A Pentagon spokesman said, "We still don't have all the facts right now. Information is still coming in, it's still very early."

Jeremy Mutschler, director of marketing for Nicolock Paving Stones, told the Associated Press that he believed the shooting occurred near the company's Frederick location but not at the business itself.

"One of the victims who was wounded entered our facility looking for help and we were able to assist and call the authorities," said Mutschler, who is based in New York.

This is breaking news. Check back for updates.

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