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Gunman kills himself after opening fire in Fairfax office building

Posted at 11:39 PM, Sep 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-28 00:00:34-04

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – A man killed himself after he opened fire in a Fairfax County office building in the 8100 block of Gatehouse Road in Falls Church Wednesday afternoon, according to the Washington Post.

Police evacuated hundreds of people and searched each of the building’s floors for a potential accomplice. No one else was found.

At approximately 4:50 p.m., Fairfax County Police received a call of an active shooter in a six-story office building behind the Fairfax County Public Schools administration building on Gatehouse Road. The incident happened in a law firm office.

The man’s body was found as officers searched the building, and police believe that he was indeed the shooter.

Seventeen-year-old James Pickford, who the Post reports was in the building for his work with a catering company, saw a man sitting with his back against a glass door with a bullet hole in it. He said he heard the man say, “I’m not a danger to anyone else. I’m a danger to myself.”

According to a press release from Fairfax County Police, the shooter has been identified as John Francis Wood, 52, of Vienna. Police do not know what his connection to the building was at this time.

There were no injuries during the incident. The investigation remains ongoing.