Police Investigate Gunshots at Pentagon

Gunshots struck the Pentagon early on Tuesday but failed to penetrate the building, officials said, as police investigated the source of the gunfire.

Pentagon police officers heard about four or five gunshots around 4:55 am (0855 GMT) fired near the south parking lot of the sprawling Defense Department headquarters, officials said.

Authorities briefly closed the building and surrounding parking lots to search the area and then reopened the Pentagon's entrances by 5:40 am, Colonel Dave Lapan told reporters.

Lapan said "there were initial reports of damage" from the gunshots hitting the building but "none penetrated."

The Pentagon introduced tighter security after a gunman in March walked up to the main entrance at rush hour and opened fire, wounding two police officers before he was shot dead by return fire.

In Tuesday's shooting, police were searching for a possible suspect along a nearby highway, Interstate 395, but details remained unclear, officials said.

"They're investigating it right now, they're not sure what happened right now," Pentagon Force Protection Agency spokesman Chris Layman told AFP.(AFP)