1 dead after shooting at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A 60-year-old man is dead after a shooting at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth on May 19.
Christopher Cook, the police chief with the White Settlement Police Department, confirmed during a news conference that the incident started around 5:30 a.m. when the man pulled up to the main gate. Security said he was looking for some type of law enforcement agency and was trying to gain entry.
According to officials, at some point during the interaction the man pulled out a weapon and shot himself. This was the reason police reported earlier that there was no active shooter situation at the defense contractor location.
While preventing the man from getting inside, security noticed a 'suspicious device' -- later determined to be a briefcase -- in the backseat of the vehicle. White Settlement police expanded their lockdown perimeter and sought the help of federal officials after the 'suspicious device' was found.
Bomb technicians from the Fort Worth Police Department were called to the scene to evaluate the device.
"We're being very cautious and the reason that we took this route is that he made some comments that were deemed as concerning to the Lockheed security team prior to the shooting," Cook said.
By 10:30 a.m., the bomb squad determined the car and everything inside it was safe.
Police say they aren't sure if the suspect has a connection to Lockheed. "We're looking into the possibility that he may be an employee or prior employee," Cook said. "We're working with Lockheed... really we'll get to answer that question when we get his actual identity."
Local officials said there was a tremendous 'surge response' because Lockheed is a US government installation.
"The collaboration with our local, state and federal partners was outstanding," said Cook. "I want to thank our community, employees at Lockheed, and our law enforcement partners for working alongside our team to ensure we could safely deal with this incident while minimizing community impacts. Our thoughts and prayers go out the decedent's family and those affected by this tragedy"