A gunman is dead and a woman is in the hospital after a shooting on base Friday morning on Naval Air Station Oceana, officials said.
The shooter was shot by Oceana security personnel, said Navy spokesman Jeff Hood. The victim, a woman, was shot multiple times but her injuries are not life threatening, Hood said. She was taken to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital.
The shooting happened at 6:45 a.m. in the parking lot of Strike Fighter Squadron 37, Hangar 145, according to a news release from the Navy. It was resolved in five minutes.
It stemmed from a domestic situation, according to Beth Baker, spokeswoman for Navy Griffin Mid-Atlantic. The two involved were enlisted sailors. The exact nature of their relationship is unknown, but they were not married, according to Baker. Navy officials at a news conference this morning declined to identify the two until their next-of-kin have been notified.
The shooter used a single handgun and did not carry additional weapons or ammunition, Capt. Chad Vincelette, the commanding officer of Oceana, said at the news conference.
The lockdown has been lifted and the gates are now open. Normal operations have resumed. Counselors have been brought in.
Oceana spokeswoman Jennifer Hayes said she could not provide details about any of the victim’s injuries “right now.”
Oceana is a master jet base in Virginia Beach. It has a no weapons policy.
Virginia Beach Fire Department crews responded for support about 7 a.m., spokesman Art Kohn said. A battalion car and engine with emergency medical technicians responded. Virginia Beach EMS also sent several ambulances and paramedics, a spokesman said.
This is the second time in a little more than two years that a sailor has been shot and killed at Oceana. In February 2017, Navy Seaman Robert “Colton” Wright was shot and killed by a master at arms after he drove his truck through a closed unmanned back gate.
