Two police officers were wounded when a gunman opened fire at a busy subway entrance to the Pentagon military headquarters complex.
The shooter, named as John Patrick Bedell, 36, of California, died within hours after being admitted to a hospital in critical condition, authorities said.
The officers were also taken to hospital but their 'grazing' injuries were not life-threatening.
The rush-hour shooting took place at a massively fortified building close to busy crowds of commuters.
The gunman walked up to a security checkpoint at 6.40pm (2340 GMT) and opened fire, hitting the two officers. They fired back, wounding him.
Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and screaming in the Metro station, while the five-sided headquarters of the US Defence Department went into temporary lockdown.
Officials have not given a motive for the shooting but online comments written by a user with the name JPatrickBedell portray him as a conspiracy theorist.
The comments, which have since been removed from Wikipedia, reveal a grudge against the military and a belief that terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were the subject of a cover-up.
Richard Keevill, chief of Pentagon police, said the gunman gave no clue to the officers at the checkpoint about what he was going to do.
"There was no distress," he said. "When he reached into his pocket, they assumed he was going to get a pass and he came up with a gun.
"He wasn't pretending to be anyone. He was wearing a coat and walked up and just started shooting."
He added: "We have layers of security and it worked. He never got inside the building to hurt anyone."
Law enforcement officials said they were also speaking with a second man, who might have accompanied the gunman.
The subway station is immediately next to the Pentagon building but since a redesign following the 9/11 terror attack on the complex, passengers are no longer able to disembark directly into the building.
They must take an escalator to street level before passing through a security check outside the doors of the building, where further security awaits.
Source : SkyNews.com
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