Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet, Fort Detrick Shooting Suspect: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Publish date: 2024-06-14

Getty A sign at the Veterans Gate at Fort Detrick Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is shown August 1, 2008 in Frederick, Maryland.

Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet was identified by Frederick Police as the Navy Corpsman accused of shooting and injuring two people at an industrial park in Frederick, Maryland before he was fatally shot by personnel at nearby Fort Detrick.

The U.S. Navy identified Woldesenbet as a 38-year-old hospital corpsman. Two victims were taken to a Baltimore hospital with critical injuries. The initial shooting was reported at Riverside Tech Park in the northeastern part of the city. The victims were also members of the Navy, authorities said. They were both expected to survive.

Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando said during a press conference Woldesenbet achieved the rank of E-4 and lived in Frederick. He was identified as a medical lab technician in 2019 meeting minutes from the Board of Regents Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 208th Meeting.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Woldesenbet Attended the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland as a Medical Lab Technician Student

“NBC 4 in Washington reported that the unidentified 38-year-old suspect traveled to Fort Detrick after the shooting. He was shot by personnel there.” https://t.co/Xjay9Gs66c

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 6, 2021

Woldesenbet attended the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland as a medical lab technician student. He was projected to graduate in December 2019, according to a letter from the school’s chief academic officer and dean.

Woldesenbet was stationed at Fort Detrick, law enforcement said. He was an E-4, or petty officer third class, Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando said during a press conference.

Woldesenbet achieved the rank of E-4 and lived in Frederick. Lando said the gunman used a rifle in the shooting.

A motive is still under investigation.

“We are still investigating motive, investigating the exact circumstances,” Army Brig. Gen. Michael J. Talley told reporters at an afternoon news conference.

2. Woldesenbet Was an E-4 & Was Posted at Fort Detrick, About 10 Minutes From the Initial Shooting Scene

Frederick, MD Shooting PM News Conference >>• Motive still being investigated• When suspect was stopped, Fort Detrick guards were reviewing his info against a BOLO, did not yet know the man they stopped was the suspect#breaking @WUSA9 @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/C19F8XmX3c

— Mike Valerio (@MikevWUSA) April 6, 2021

The U.S. Navy was quick to confirm the shooting at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, saying a Navy Hospital Corpsman was the shooter. Woldesenbet was later identified by authorities as the gunman. He was killed minutes after the initial shooting, the Navy wrote on Twitter just before 11 a.m. Fort Detrick released a statement saying the situation was “neutralized” when the suspect “breached” the Nalin Pond Gate. Personnel attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead on the scene, the statement said.

It said:

SHOOTING INCIDENT (ACTIVE SHOOTER — RESOLVED) FORT DETRICK, Maryland—Fort Detrick Police have neutralized an active shooter situation involving an armed gunman. After a shooting incident off post, the suspect breached the Nalin Pond gate located off of Opposumtown Pike. The gunman was neutralized, and medical lifesaving procedures were initiated. The gunman was pronounced dead at the scene. “Our number one priority is the safety of our people,” said U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick Commander Col. Dexter Nunnally. “Our emergency responders are well trained for these types of situations and the fast response of our military police enabled us to contain this threat quickly.” Fort Detrick and local law enforcement are continuing to investigate this incident.

The Navy statement also said the gunman had been killed.

“The U.S. Navy can confirm there was an active shooter incident at Fort Detrick, MD involving U.S. Navy Sailors. The shooter, a Navy Hospital Corpsman, is deceased. We will continue to update with additional details as the situation evolves,” the Navy wrote on Twitter. “#USNavy can confirm there was an active shooter incident at Fort Detrick, MD involving U.S. Navy Sailors. We will continue to update with additional details as the situation evolves.”

Fort Detrick later posted a statement on Facebook saying parts of the installation were closed due to the ongoing investigation.

“Due to events that transpired this morning there are ongoing investigations taking place on the installation,” the statement said. “Police have cordoned off those areas of the installation, so those areas are now off limits, and they are identified by cones, police tape or Traffic Control Point personnel. At the moment the Nalin Gate is part of that area and is currently closed, please use Veterans and Old Farm Gates for access on and off the post.”

3. The Two Victims Were Flown by Medical Helicopter From the Frederick Business & Were in Critical Condition

Two people were seriously injured in a shooting near Fort Detrick, an Army base in Frederick County, Maryland, on Tuesday morning. The suspect in the shooting is dead, the police said.https://t.co/v9CM86TOuC

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 6, 2021

Police had been called to the first scene, about a 4-mile drive east of Fort Detrick, around 8:20 a.m., Lando said.

“We know some people fled from the business,” he said during a press conference.

He described the active shooting incident as a situation with two crime scenes, the first at the Riverside Tech Park and the second at the U.S. Army garrison. Lando said the victims were flown by medical helicopters to trauma centers in Baltimore.

4. Fort Detrick Is a U.S. Army Medical Research & Development Command Installation With a Population of About 10,000

An FBI-led investigation is underway into why 38-year-old Navy medic Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet shot two sailors at a Naval office near Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland this morning: https://t.co/PSGkfB4CQZ

— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) April 6, 2021

Fort Detrick is a U.S. Army garrison with a population of about 10,000, which includes both military personnel and civilians, according to the U.S. Military. The garrison is an MRDC installation, or a U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (MRDC) installation known for biomedical research. The MRDC’s mission is “supporting a multi-governmental community that conducts biomedical research and development, medical material management, worldwide communications, and the study of foreign plant pathogens.”

“The US Army Garrison, Fort Detrick, provides sustainable base operations support, quality of life programs, and environmental stewardship to facilitate the sustainment of vital national interests,” the U.S. Military writes.

Fort Detrick supports the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services. Within the DoD, Fort Detrick supports all four branches of the military, the military said.

Fort Detrick made headlines in 2008 when Army biologist Bruce Edwards Ivins died by suicide on the base after learning he would be named as a suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks. He was never formally charged with mailing the letters that killed five people. ProPublica reported in 2011 there was some doubt whether Ivins was the perpetrator.

5. Governor Larry Hogan Was Briefed on the Situation & Commended Law Enforcement for the Swift Response

Officials with Fort Detrick say suspect drove through a security gate. Frederick Police had issued a “be on the lookout” alert prior to his arrival https://t.co/rGidxxd6jr

— Scripps National News (@ScrippsNational) April 6, 2021

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan commended law enforcement on the state, local and federal level for their swift response to the active shooter situation in a statement on Twitter.

I want to thank the federal, state, and local law enforcement officials for responding swiftly to the incident this morning in Frederick. We are keeping the victims in our prayers and @MDSP will continue to assist in the investigation.

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) April 6, 2021

“I want to thank the federal, state, and local law enforcement officials for responding swiftly to the incident this morning in Frederick. We are keeping the victims in our prayers and @MDSP will continue to assist in the investigation,” he wrote on Twitter.

Tragic events in @FrederickMD today. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I am closely following developments and appreciate the updates from the @USNavy. https://t.co/o9y2iRePo9

— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) April 6, 2021

“Tragic events in @FrederickMD today,” wrote U.S. Senator Ben Cardin on Twitter. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I am closely following developments and appreciate the updates from the @USNavy.”