Tuesday, October 19, 2010
By Susan Jones
Marine corps museum
The National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., 36 miles south of Washington, D.C., describes itself as a lasting tribute to U.S. Marines. (Photo from the museum's Web site)
(Update: Multiple shots hit the Pentagon shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday, Marine Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said at a late-morning briefing. He didn't know how many shots or from what kind of weapon. Part of nearby I-395 was closed for several hours as police searched for evidence. No one was hurt and damage was minor.)
(CNSNews.com) - The Pentagon will hold a late-morning briefing Tuesday on reports that at least two bullets hit the Pentagon early Tuesday morning.
WRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Washington, said the shots were fired shortly before 5 a.m. on the south side of the building. The bullets reportedly failed to penetrate the reinforced glass.
Police shut down part of southbound I-395 along the southern end of the Pentagon later Tuesday morning to search for possible evidence, the NBC station said.
The FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Justice Department are investigating.
pentagon shots fired
In a similar incident that may or may not be connected, police also are investigating shots fired at the National Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, Virginia -- about 36 miles south of Washington -- over the weekend.

Law Enforcement officers search for evidence along the I-395 expressway adjacent to the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010 after a report of shots fired near the building. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Prince William County police on Monday were tracing the trajectory of the bullets, which left holes in several upper-level windows.
The museum is also located near a major highway -- I-95 -- and the shots apparently were fired from that general direction, sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning when the museum was closed, police said.
The Marine Corps describes the building as "a lasting tribute to U.S. Marines – past, present and future." It was designed to evoke the image of the Iwo Jima flag-raisers.