On Tuesday, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of reports of gunfire at the Pentagon Metro station located adjacent to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
According to FBI and Pentagon Force Protection Agency, this incident began when the attacker, identified as Austin William Lanz, 27, of Acworth, GA, got off a bus at the Pentagon Transit Center and “immediately, without provocation” attacked Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) officer George Gonzalez with a knife, severely wounding him.
A struggle ensued, during which the suspect mortally wounded Officer Gonzalez and then shot himself with the officer’s service weapon. Other Force Protection officers also engaged the suspect, who ultimately died at the scene. A civilian bystander also sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital, then later released.
Also reported was the fact that the attacker enlisted in the Marine Corps on Oct. 9, 2012, but was "administratively separated" on Nov. 2 that same year. Readers are reminded that a new recruit or service member can be separated from the military services for a wide variety of reasons, including criminal and behavioral issues, failure to meet military standards or drug abuse. An administrative separation is a non-judicial process and is roughly akin to a civilian being fired.
It is unclear what led to Lanz's swift dismissal.
According to Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger, "He never earned the title Marine."
At the time of the attack, Lanz was out on bail after being charged in Cobb County, Georgia, with multiple crimes, including “aggravated battery on police” and “making a terrorist threat.”
The attack temporarily placed the Pentagon on lockdown and rattled nerves in a region already on high alert for violence and potential intruders, particularly after months of BLM and Antifa protests and rioting in 2020, the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol, the April 2021 vehicle ramming and shooting on Capitol Hill, as well as the May 2021 shooting at the main entrance to the CIA campus in Virginia.
A motive for the attack is still unknown, or at least has not yet been revealed, but the incident has again raised concerns about the security of the Pentagon. Another attack occurred in 2010 when a individual opened fire on two Force Protection officers at a security screening area and was himself fatally shot.
AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages to their mobile devices, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant.
