September 11th conspiracy theorist killed in Pentagon shooting
September 11th conspiracy theorist killed in Pentagon shooting
Friday, 05, Mar 2010 02:01
By Richard James.
A gunman has been shot dead by US police after approaching a Pentagon checkpoint and opening fire at officers on Thursday evening.
The man has since been identified as 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell.
Reports from the scene claim he approached officers near a commuter rail station on the Arlington, Virginia, site, pulled out a handgun and opened fire.
He was shot by police returning fire and later died in hospital from his injuries, officials confirmed.
The Pentagon police chief Richard Keevill said it appeared the 36-year-old had been trying to gain entry to the defence headquarters.
Two police officers were injured in the incident, suffering from grazing wounds, and were also treated at a local hospital.
Describing the shooting, Mr Keevill said: "He just reached in his pocket, pulled out a gun and started shooting, no more than 5ft away.
"He walked up very cool. He had no real emotion on his face. There was no distress. 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."
"We have layers of security and it worked. He never got inside the building to hurt anyone."
Reports have emerged following the shooting that Mr Bedell may have harboured resentment against the US military and somehow doubted the official account of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
A series of internet postings have been linked to the gunman calling for an establishment of the "truth of events such as the September 11th demolitions" and criticising government policy regarding marijuana.