Pentagon shot at

[Big Orange]

Depending on how far away he was I doubt it. He'd have to be within a very short range for them to figure out where the shot came from like that.

Yes, the shooter was being as a discreet and fast as possible, especially when firing at an unpopulated part of the building in the dead of night before dawn from one of the roads surrounding the place (highway 395 has been cordoned off), but what sort of angry statement was he/she making?

[General Zod]

Depending on how far away he was I doubt it. He'd have to be within a very short range for them to figure out where the shot came from like that.

Yes, the shooter was being as a discreet and fast as possible, especially when firing at an unpopulated part of the building in the dead of night before dawn from one of the roads surrounding the place (highway 395 has been cordoned off), but what sort of angry statement was he/she making?

Why assume he was making a statement? For all we know it was a drunken bet.

[Captain Seafort]

For all we know it was a drunken bet.

Or was shooting at something/one else and missed.

[Serafina]

Yes, i realize that it was a pretty uninformed argument - and hence stupid (because you do not comment about something you are not informed about). Hence, it's entirely withdrawn now.

[General Zod]

more details

WASHINGTON—Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as "a random event."

No one was injured in the predawn incident in which shots were fired into two windows at the sprawling Defense Department just across the Potomac River in suburban Virginia.

Steven Calvery, director of the civilian Pentagon Force Protection Agency, told reporters that authorities would have to re-evaluate their assessment if they find the incident was part of a larger plot. He said authorities did not yet have any suspects.

Mr. Calvery said a number of his officers reported hearing five to seven shots fired at about 4:55 a.m. EDT near the south parking lot of the Pentagon. The building, and roads leading to the property, were shut down as officers did an initial sweep of the area. They were reopened 45 minutes later.

An internal search of the building found fragments of two bullets still embedded in two windows—one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The bullets had shattered, but did not penetrate, the windows, Mr. Calvery said. The windows were part of offices that are being renovated and they were unoccupied at the time.

He said he didn't know what kind of weapon was used but that it was probably a high-velocity rifle.

Officials said it was the first incident of its kind since early March, when a gunman opened fire at a security checkpoint at the Pentagon in an attack that wounded two police officers.

The shooter, identified as John Patrick Bedell, 36 years old, of Hollister, Calif., was shot by police and died hours after being admitted to a hospital in critical condition. Authorities had no motive for the shooting, but there had been signs that Mr. Bedell may have harbored resentment for the military and had doubts about the facts behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

State, federal and local agencies were cooperating in Tuesday's investigation in which authorities were studying surveillance video and questioning witnesses.

Mr. Calvery said they were looking at whether the shooting might be related to Monday's discovery of bullet holes in windows at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., about 30 miles south of the Pentagon. That shooting also is believed to have been with a rifle and possibly during early morning hours.

The Pentagon agency was working with the FBI; Arlington, Va., police who helped conduct the sweep of the area; and Virginia State Police who closed part of nearby Interstate 395 in search of evidence. A dozen officers at about 9 a.m. walked side-by-side in a line as they combed through a grassy area on the south side of the building.

Mr. Calvery said that in addition to his officers, investigators were talking to some construction workers who also heard the shots.

They also are considering the possibility that the shooter had been standing on the roof of a nearby building.

A spokesperson for Prince William County Police, which is investigating the museum shooting, said Tuesday that authorities do not know if the shootings are related but they are coordinating their investigation with Pentagon police. A cleaning crew at the museum associated with the Quantico Marine Base called police Monday when they noticed the bullet holes in windows high up in a part of the building that faces Interstate 95.

Police believe the shots were fired at the museum late Saturday or early Sunday, when no one was inside. Investigators used a crane to inspect the damage Monday. Because of the height of the holes, police suspect the bullets were likely fired from a rifle, but they are still working to determine what caliber of bullet was used.

Several glass panels were hit, causing about $20,000 in damage. None of the museum's artifacts—including a harrier jet hanging near the damaged windows—were hit.

So clearly not an accident, but impossible to say what it's connected to if anything.

[ShadowDragon8685]

So, on the face of things, this appears to be simply a spectacularly retarded act of vandalism...

Anybody this stupid almost has to be some kind of mentally impaired. I can't think of anything that would get you in hotter water than randomly taking potshots at the Pentagon short of attempting to assassinate the President under the theory that it would get you attention from some actress.