Gunfire erupted at one of entrances to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum at 12:52 p.m. eastern on Wednesday, near the National Mall. Two people were shot, including a private security guard. Police indicate that one of the victims is the shooting suspect.
The crime took place at the 14th Street entrance, where the security guard was fired upon by a man wielding a long rifle. U.S. Park Police spokesman David Schlosser reported that two other security guards then opened fire on the suspect, wounding him.
An eyewitness told CNN that she heard five shots and saw a security guard lying face down on the floor, and he was bleeding heavily from his back.
Both men have been taken to an area hospital by ambulance. At a hastily called news conference, law enforcement officials and Adrian Fenty, the mayor of Washington D.C., spoke. Fenty indicated that the security guard was in grave condition but it has since been reported that his has died of his wounds. Steven Tyrone Johns had been a security officer at the Holocaust Museum for six years. The facility will be closed tomorrow in memory of the fallen officer.
The shooter is also reported to be in critical condition with a gunshot to the head. Born on July 11, 1920, he has been identified as 88-year-old James Wenneker von Brunn, an artist from Easton, Maryland – see an example of his artwork below.
Von Brunn is a known white supremacist who reportedly served 6.5 years in federal prison on an earlier conviction. He was arrested in December 1981 after pulling a sawed-off shotgun at the Federal Reserve Board headquarters, claiming to have planted a bomb and threatening to take hostages.
Developing story…
See photos of the suspect and multiple videos of coverage below.
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