Three Marines Dead: An Active Duty Marine Kills Two FelloW Marines at Quantico, Then Takes Own Life

Three people who died were identified as US  Marine are dead in Quantico, VA. The shootings, murder-suicide, took place late on Thursday night at approximately 10:30 pm near the Officer Candidate School at the Marine Corps Base.  An active duty Marine shot dead two other Marines, before the suspect took his own life. According to FOX News, a male Marine killed a male and female colleague in a shooting at a base in northern Virginia before killing himself. One Marine was found dead at a barracks. A second victim was later found dead, along with the body of the suspected gunman, who died of self-inflicted gunshot wound.

An active-duty Marine shot dead two fellow service members at a base at Quantico, Virginia, then barricaded himself in a building and killed himself, prompting a brief lockdown of the base, the Marines said on Friday.

The shootings took place late on Thursday near the Officer Candidate School at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, and all three people who died were identified as Marines, Marines spokesman Sergeant Christopher Zahn said.

Zahn, who is based at Quantico, could give no details as to a motive for the shootings.

“The investigation is in the very early stages,” he said.

“An isolated shooting incident has occurred at Officer Candidate School, Quantico,” the base separately said on its Facebook page. “The suspect has been barricaded by law enforcement personnel.”

Quantico FaceBook

UPDATE I: ABC News quoted a military official as saying the suspect had been identified as a staff member at the cadet school, as was one of the victims. ABC also said that the second person killed was a female Marine found dead in the barracks, but gave no further details.

UPDATE II: As per the WAPO, Three Marines die in shootings at Quantico …. suspect never barricaded himself prior to suicide.

The shooter gunned down a male Marine before seizing a female Marine and killing her, then himself, officials said.

The shootings happened in the Taylor Hall barracks at the school located on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., at about 11 p.m., said the base commander, Col. David W. Maxwell.

He told reporters that all three of the Marines were staffers at the school and that all officer candidates there were safe and accounted for.

Maxwell denied earlier reports that the suspect barricaded himself inside the barracks in a standoff with authorities before committing suicide. He said there was no barricade situation.