WASHINGTON — The suspect accused in connection with the death of a Pentagon officer Tuesday has been identified as a Georgia man, most recently from Acworth, according to the Washington FBI field office.
FBI Washington said that Austin William Lanz ambushed a Pentagon officer, identified as Officer George Gonzalez, and stabbed him after he exited a bus at the transit center outside of the building.
Lanz allegedly stabbed Gonzalez with a knife and severely wounded him, the FBI said.
According to the FBI, after a struggle between Lanz and Gonzalez, Lanz shot himself with the officer's service weapon. Officers then "engaged" with Lanz, according to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. Lanz later died at the scene.
The agency did not specify what happened when officers "engaged" the suspect.
The Pentagon was temporarily put on lockdown after the violence broke out around 10:40 a.m.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed his condolences Tuesday, announcing flags at the Pentagon will be flown at half-staff in honor of the officer. A bystander was also injured during the incident, but was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and was later released.
The motive for the attack is still unknown at this time.
Lanz, 27, had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in October 2012 but was “administratively separated” less than a month later and never earned the Marine title, the Corps said in a statement.
The FBI said it is still investigating what happened.