Female Fort Lee shooting suspect dead from self-inflicted gunshot wound, Army says
By RYAN GORMAN
The female soldier who shot herself Monday morning at Fort Lee has died at a Richmond hospital, the Army has confirmed.
The female suspect died at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center after being rushed from the base with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
She was rushed from the base just before 10:00 a.m. after barricading herself inside an office in the CASCOM building near the center of Fort Lee, said the Army.
The unidentified woman entered the building at around 8:45 a.m., flashed a gun and barricaded herself inside an office and refused to come out.
Negotiators pleaded with her to emerge from the office, but she instead turned her firearm on herself, authorities said.
"A female soldier turned her weapon on herself and fired one shot into herself," a Fort Lee spokesperson confirmed to AOL News.
UPDATE: One person, believed to be the shooter, wounded at @ArmyFortLee, @CBSNews learns; lockdown over: http://t.co/6Ec7PnA2Vs
- Mark Albert (@malbertnews) August 25, 2014
The female soldier was the only person wounded in the incident. Her name is being withheld until at least tomorrow to allow time for her loved ones to be notified.
Authorities issued a lockdown notice just after 9:00 a.m. for all people on the base to shelter in place. The lockdown order was lifted at 9:50 a.m.
"All personnel should enact active shooter protocols immediately. The installation is being locked down until further notice," the Army said in a statement.
The shooter was reportedly in the CASCOM headquarters building. The U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command conducts arms research and development for the military.
People were allowed to resume their daily activities on the base, but were barred from entering the CASCOM HQ.
CASCOM headquarters is a four-story building in the center of the base, a military spokesperson told AOL. Fort Lee is in central Virginia, about 30 miles south of Richmond.
About 34,000 people live on the sprawling base. It was not immediately known how many work inside the CASCOM building.
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