Gunman kills hostage, self at Johnson Space Center

[Space Tycoon]

Gunman kills hostage, self at Johnson Space Center

Breaking news
MSNBC and NBC News
Updated: 3:35 p.m. PT April 20, 2007
A gunman killed a hostage inside a building at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday, then shot himself to death as police commandos moved in, police said.

One other hostage was found alive inside Building 44 on the space center's campus, although she was bound with tape, Houston Police Capt. Dwayne Ready told reporters.

The gunman's suicide brought the afternoon-long drama to a swift close. The building was evacuated after shots were reported to authorities, and for a time the entire space center as well as a nearby school was locked down.

The suspect was reportedly a contract worker for NASA, but Ready said he could not say what the motive for the shooting was. "We have one suspect, a white male, approximately 50 to 60 years old, with one weapon, that being a handgun," Houston Police Capt. Dwayne Ready told reporters.

Ready said witnesses provided the description of the suspect and told authorities that two shots were fired inside the building. One of those shots apparently killed a male hostage being held by the gunman, he said.

KPRC, NBC's affiliate in Houston, reported that the gunman was barricaded in a second-floor office. Even as authorities tried to establish contact with the gunman, another gunshot was heard, Ready said. He said that prompted SWAT officers to move in.

As the officers approached the suspect, the gunman fatally shot himself in the head with his handgun, Ready said. The dead hostage was then found, as well a female hostage, he said. The female was under medical treatment, Ready said.

The gunman worked for a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering Group, a contractor for NASA, company sources told KPRC. John Prosser, executive vice president for finance and administration at Jacobs Engineering Group, confirmed to MSNBC.com that he had received those reports — but he could not provide any further information.

The Tennessee-based subsidiary, Jacobs Sverdrup, does "very extensive" work for NASA, including computer and engineering services, Prosser said.

Initially, NASA advised employees to "shelter in place until further notice." Later in the afternoon, employees were told they could leave the center grounds when their normal workday was over.

Space Center Intermediate School, which is adjacent to the campus, was placed temporariliy in lockdown mode as a precaution — but the children and staff were eventually allowed to go home.

Authorities set up a command center and lights outside the building, potentially setting the stage for a long vigil and negotiations.

Building 44 is a two-story communications and engineering office building set off in a relatively isolated area of Johnson Space Center's 1,600-acre campus, some distance from the Mission Control building.

In an advisory, NASA said Building 44 "primarily consists of office space and a few labs to support tracking of spacecraft, such as the international space station and the space shuttle when it's flying."

NASA spokeswoman Eileen Hawley told reporters that the incident caused "absolutely no disruptions to center operations."

A Soyuz craft is due to bring U.S. and Russian astronauts along with billionaire space passenger Charles Simonyi back to Earth on Saturday, but that operation is being managed from Russian Mission Control near Moscow, with the landing targeted for Kazakhstan. Johnson Space Center is also preparing for a space shuttle mission as early as June 8.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

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