A police officer has been killed after he was stabbed outside the Pentagon today.
The Pentagon, which is the headquarters of the US military, was placed on lockdown after gunshots were fired near the entrance of the building.
A Pentagon police officer was stabbed during the incident, which took place at a transit station outside the military base. He later died.
The suspect in the incident was shot dead at the scene.
Officials have not yet provided details of the sequence of events and the full connection between the shooting and the stabbing of the officer has not been made clear.
The incident took place at a Metro bus platform which forms part of the Pentagon Transit Centre. The facility is meters away from the Pentagon building, which is located in Arlington County, Virgina.
At the time of the incident the Pentagon issued a statement informing people that the Pentagon had been locked down and warned people to stay away from the area. The message was also sent out on social media platform Twitter.
The lockdown has since been lifted.
A reporter for the Associated Press, who was near the building at the time, heard multiple gunshots, followed by a pause, and then at least one additional shot.
Another AP journalist heard police yelling "shooter".
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were at the White House meeting with President Joe Biden, at the time of the shooting.
