2010 Pentagon shooting

Shooting of two policemen in Virginia, US March 2025 ll March 2025 2010 Pentagon shooting Arlington, Virginia, US 2010 03 04 6:40 p.m. Shooting 1 (the perpetrator) 2 EST John Patrick Bedell * Ruger 9mm semi-automatic pistol Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol On March 4, 2010, John Patrick Bedell shot and wounded two Pentagon police officers at a security checkpoint in the Pentagon station of the Washington Metro transit system in Arlington County, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, United States. The officers returned fire, striking him in the head. Bedell was killed. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35716821 Pentagon gunman sought 'truth' about 9/11 March 5, 2010 NBC News March 5, 2010 Shooting The suit-clad gunman was wounded after firing upon and injuring two Pentagon police officers. The shooting occurred around 6:40 p.m. http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/national/3-shot-outside-pentagon-metro-station-0304101267749516981 Officials: Pentagon shooting suspect dies My Fox Boston March 5, 2010 WFXT March 5, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110728053454/http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/national/3-shot-outside-pentagon-metro-station-0304101267749516981 July 28, 2011 outside the Metro station entrance. As he neared the security checkpoint, Bedell reportedly appeared to be "pretty calm". When the officers asked for his credentials, "he drew a weapon from his pocket and started shooting". Joined by a third officer who came to their aid, the police defended themselves and returned fire, mortally wounding their attacker.Officers Hurt, Gunman Killed In Pentagon Shooting MyFox DC March 5, 2010. Accessed Friday, March 5, 2010 The conflict was over in less than a minute. According to Chief Richard Keevill of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Bedell was armed with two 9mm semiautomatic pistols and had several loaded magazines. Authorities found more ammunition in his car, parked in a nearby parking garage.Official: Pentagon shooter was well armed Associated Press on www.chron.com March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2010. Bedell and the injured officers were transported to George Washington University Hospital by units of the Arlington County Fire Department. http://www.arlnow.com/2010/03/04/breaking-news-three-shot-at-pentagon-metro/ Three Shot at Pentagon Metro ArkNow.com January 29, 2010 March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100309170447/http://www.arlnow.com/2010/03/04/breaking-news-three-shot-at-pentagon-metro/ March 9, 2010 live The two injured officers, Jeffrey Amos and Marvin Carraway, were soon released from the hospital. One had a thigh wound, and the other had a shoulder wound. Both injuries were superficial. Response All of the Pentagon's entrances were secured after the attack except the one leading from the Metro. All were reopened according to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. The Metro station had also been reopened by 8:00 p.m. except the entrance nearest the area of the shooting. Whitman said the subway entrance was likely to remain closed overnight. The subway station is adjacent to the Pentagon. It was redesigned after the September 11 terrorist attacks; commuters are no longer allowed to go directly into the building. Instead they must ride an escalator to the surface and pass through a security check outside the building's doors. Perpetrator thumb|Bedell John Patrick Bedell (May 20, 1973 – March 5, 2010) was a computer programmer and engineering student http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14519258?source=most_viewed Pentagon shooter was SJSU engineering student, troubled with drug problem March 5, 2010 The Mercury News March 6, 2010 from Hollister, California.Updated: Suspected Pentagon gunman was from Hollister; recently attended SJ State https://sanbenito.com/updated-suspected-pentagon-gunman-was-from-hollister-recently-attended-sj-state/ May 19, 2024 SanBenito.com The Free Lance March 4, 2010 He had bipolar disorder and had been institutionalized several times, http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/05/pentagon.shooting/index.html?hpt=T2 Pentagon shooter had history of mental health problems CNN March 6, 2010 March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100307182027/http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/05/pentagon.shooting/index.html?hpt=T2 March 7, 2010 live according to a 2006 Orange County court filing regarding an arrest for marijuana possession. http://www.ocregister.com/news/bedell-237691-authorities-arrest.html O.C. court filing: Pentagon shooter bipolar Irving Doug Hernandez Salvador Orange County Register March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100306155913/http://www.ocregister.com/news/bedell-237691-authorities-arrest.html March 6, 2010 live http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/pentagon-gunman-had-a-history-of-mental-illness-323475.html Pentagon gunman had a history of mental illness Statesman.com March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100314095958/http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/pentagon-gunman-had-a-history-of-mental-illness-323475.html March 14, 2010 It is unclear how or if the bipolar disorder affected his behavior in this matter. http://media.www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2010/03/08/News/Report.Bipolar.Disorder.May.Not.Have.Affected.Bedells.Behavior-3886483.shtml Report: Bipolar disorder may not have affected Bedell's behavior Van Susteren Eric Kostovska Anna-Maria March 8, 2010 Spartan Daily March 8, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100310142627/http://media.www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2010/03/08/News/Report.Bipolar.Disorder.May.Not.Have.Affected.Bedells.Behavior-3886483.shtml March 10, 2010 He graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz in 1994 with an undergraduate degree in physics. He also attended San Jose State University (SJSU) in 1995–1996, studying biochemistry. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jpbedell J. Patrick Bedell [profile] John Patrick Bedell LinkedIn March 5, 2010 He returned to SJSU in 2009 for a graduate electrical engineering program, where he was described as "one of the best circuit design students" in the class by a former professor. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35716821 Pentagon shooter had history of mental illness NBC March 4, 2010 Political views The Christian Science Monitor noted Bedell was an "anti-Bush registered Democrat who believed 9/11 was planned and carried out by the US government", but argued it would nevertheless be "facile" to call him left-wing. The Monitor instead grouped Bedell with "non-partisan"May 2026 or "post-partisan" anti-government extremists such as Joseph Andrew Stack and the Ku Klux Klan.Knickerbocker Brad Political extremism: Not so easy to categorize The Christian Science Monitor March 6, 2010 https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2010/0306/Political-extremism-Not-so-easy-to-categorize March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100308230527/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2010/0306/Political-extremism-Not-so-easy-to-categorize March 8, 2010 live A blog on Blogspot named Rothbardix appears to be authored by Bedell. The title of the blog probably represents a reference to anarcho-capitalist Murray Rothbard. http://www.aolnews.com/2010/03/05/pentagon-shooter-saw-vast-govt-conspiracies/19384750/ Pentagon Shooter Saw Vast Gov't Conspiracies Andrea Stone March 5, 2008 AOL News March 5, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100308221218/http://www.aolnews.com/2010/03/05/pentagon-shooter-saw-vast-govt-conspiracies/19384750/ March 8, 2010 The blog details many libertarian beliefs, including: "The most basic principle of economic justice is the protection of private property and the protection of the right to freely exchange that property. Modern governments, however, consistently and routinely violate the rights of property owners ...".Bedell J. Patrick Rothbardix: Technology for Liberty and Justice http://rothbardix.blogspot.com/ dead March 5, 2010 Blogspot July 8, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708062126/http://rothbardix.blogspot.com/ Bedell also seems to suggest the United States government is controlled by an elite group of people. In the final paragraph of his last blog post, he wrote: "The blatant violations of the Constitution's limitations on the economic role of the government, accomplished through many subtle usurpations over many decades, are perhaps even more pernicious than, and are certainly a key motivation for, the violent seizure of the United States government." The anti-government views on Bedell's blog are also buttressed by his Facebook page, since deleted but image captured, where he associated himself as a fan of the libertarian Ludwig von Mises Institute, Lew Rockwell, and Shelly Roche (a self-described libertarian). http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4408406069_ab871e021c_o.jpg John Patrick Bedell [profile] J. Patrick Bedell Facebook (thence Flickr) March 5, 2010 Bedell posted a proposal on Google Code for an "open insurgent project" that would "integrate existing open-source codebases and new development to create an MMORPG simulation of low-cost defenses against futuristic, modern, and historical military opponents using a wide range of simulated defensive responses with real world systems". https://code.google.com/p/openinsurgent/wiki/Download Google Code Alphabet Openinsurgent project March 6, 2010 He also created a Linux distribution called Rothbardix. http://www.rpath.org/ui/#/appliances?shortname=rothbardix Rothbardix Linux, Release 0.0.2 March 15, 2007 rPath.org rBuilder March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100305040846/http://www.rpath.org/ui/#/appliances?shortname=rothbardix March 5, 2010 On March 5, 2010, media reports said that Bedell may have harbored entrenched bitterness towards the US Armed Forces and that he had doubts about the official story of the September 11 attacks. He has also been described as a "follower of the 9/11 truth movement". http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7051419.ece https://web.archive.org/web/20110605001704/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7051419.ece June 5, 2011 Pentagon gunman blamed US government for September 11 attacks Judith Evans March 5, 2010 The Times London March 5, 2010 In 2006, he was arrested for openly growing cannabis on his balcony, which he explained in a podcast was due to his "belief that cannabis prohibition is the least defensible and most unjust aspect of the prohibitionist regime". He refused to cooperate with officers and was carried down the apartment stairs to a patrol car.John Patrick Bedell Interest Sparks Irvine Police Statement on Pentagon Shooter He mentioned on his blog, Rothbardix, his arrest and subsequent dealings with law enforcement officials resulting from his arrest on marijuana charges and obstructing an officer. Bedell was described as motivated by a hatred of the federal government and an expressed desire to expose what he considered https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0305/John-Patrick-Bedell-Did-right-wing-extremism-lead-to-shooting John Patrick Bedell: Did right-wing extremism lead to shooting? The Christian Science Monitor Peter Grier March 5, 2010 March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100307031546/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0305/John-Patrick-Bedell-Did-right-wing-extremism-lead-to-shooting March 7, 2010 live an injustice in the case of a military suicide he argued was a coverup. He apparently wrote on a Wikipedia page that bringing attention to what he felt was military corruption would "see that justice is served in the death of Colonel James Sabow, as a step toward establishing the truth of events such as the September 11 demolitions and institutions such as the coup regime of 1963 that maintains itself in power through the global drug trade, financial corruption, and murder, among other crimes". https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-patrick-bedell-rants-on-wikipedia-and-youtube-may-have-foreshadowed-breakdown/ John Patrick Bedell: Rants on Wikipedia and YouTube May Have Foreshadowed Breakdown Miller Carlin DeGuerin March 5, 2010 CBS News March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100310090836/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-6269989-504083.html March 10, 2010 live Bedell also envisioned a system which required "billions and billions of carefully cultivated, highly valuable cannabis plants growing through the United States with complete security of property". This was to have been the basis for a proposed new monetary system based on the value of a gram of cannabis.Dreazen Yochi J. Yochi Dreazen T. W. Farnam Stu Woo Suspect's Parents Warned Police Wall Street Journal March 6, 2010 https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703915204575103131123111518 March 6, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100307185208/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703915204575103131123111518.html March 7, 2010 live See also 2021 Pentagon attack CIA headquarters shooting List of incidents of political violence in Washington, DC References 38 52 9.3 N 77 3 13.5 W type:event_region:US-VA title Category:2010 in Virginia Category:Attacks on government buildings and structures in the United States Category:Crimes in Virginia Category:March 2010 crimes in the United States Category:Non-fatal shootings in the United States Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Virginia Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2010 Category:Terrorist incidents in Virginia Category:The Pentagon Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 2010 Category:Mass shootings involving semi-automatic pistols in the United States