The armed man who was shot by an FBI agent as he tried to drive through a security checkpoint at CIA headquarters outside Washington, D.C., on Monday night has died from his wounds, according to reports.
The suspect was identified Tuesday morning as Roy Gordon Cole, a man who suffered from apparent mental illness and who had been previously known to CIA security.
The FBI announced the man’s death at 12:37 p.m. Tuesday. The shooting remains under investigation.
Updated Statement: “The subject involved in the shooting incident outside CIA Headquarters at approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, May 3, 2021, died from his injuries after being transported to the hospital. The FBI reviews every shooting incident involving an FBI special agent."
— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) May 4, 2021
Law enforcement officials say the armed man shot outside CIA HQ yesterday has been identified as Roy Gordon Cole - a man with an apparent history of mental illness who was known to CIA security.
— jonathan dienst (@jonathan4ny) May 4, 2021
Gunfire erupted about 6 p.m. Monday near the main security gate at the Central Intelligence Agency compound in McLean, Virginia, where Cole allegedly pulled up in his car, exchanged words with security detail, and then stepped out with a weapon, according to reports.
At least one report cited a source saying the man allegedly wielded a sword, although that account remains unconfirmed by authorities.
The circumstances of what exactly led to the shooting remain unclear but occurred after a lengthy negotiation between guards and the man, the FBI said.
Cole allegedly “emerged from his vehicle with a weapon,” the bureau said in a brief statement following the incident.
After being shot, Cole was transported to an undisclosed hospital nearby. The bureau would not reveal the type of weapon the man was carrying.
The CIA said its officers were “the only Agency personnel directly involved” in the incident, although none fired their guns.
There were no reports that any FBI agents or CIA officers were injured or wounded.
“The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously,” said Samantha Shero, a public affairs officer for the FBI’s Washington Field Office, in an email. “The review process is thorough and objective, and is conducted as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances.”
The CIA later said the building was secure and referred questions to the FBI.
The shooting comes one month after an Indiana man was shot and killed after ramming his car into two security officers at the U.S. Capitol, killing one and injuring the other. The suspect, identified as 25-year-old Noah Green, emerged from his car brandishing a knife, reports said.
The CIA headquarters, which opened in 1961, is well-known for its heavily fortified security perimeter. The campus is closed to the general public and accessible to mostly only government officials with security clearances or special authorization.
In 1993, a Pakistani man shot and killed five people, including two CIA employees, who were stopped in traffic outside the agency’s headquarters. Mir Aimal Kasi was executed by lethal injection in 2002 after evading prosecution for years in Pakistan.
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