THE GUARDIAN
Pentagon gunman was 9/11 conspiracy theorist acting alone, say officialsJohn Patrick Bedell was killed after wounding two police officers in attack at security checkpoint outside the Pentagon.
A gunman shot two Pentagon police officers at a security check outside the building in Arlington, Virginia. John Patrick Bedell died in hospital after officers returned fire. Photograph: Mike Theiler/EPA
A gunman killed in an attack on the Pentagon last night was acting alone and was not connected to any terrorist plot, officials said, as reports emerged that he was a 9/11 conspiracy theorist who grew marijuana at his home.
John Patrick Bedell, 36, of California, wrote on the internet about government conspiracies in the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, "institutionalised violence of government" and other theories.
According to media reports, Bedell, a software developer, was arrested in 2006 when police discovered a large number of marijuana plants in his California home.
Yesterday evening, according to officials, Bedell approached a busy entrance to the Pentagon, one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the world. Wearing a suit and calm in demeanour, he did nothing to attract the attention of the armed police guards. He reached into his jacket as if to pull out his identification card, but drew out a 9mm pistol and opened fire.
Two officers were shot, one in the leg, another in the shoulder, and they and a third officer opened fire. Bedell was struck in the head and died later in hospital. Surveillance video confirmed Bedell acted alone, the Pentagon police chief, Richard Keevill, said.
The shooting came three weeks after Joseph Stack, a software engineer with strong anti-tax leanings, flew his plane into an office of the US tax authority in Texas. Stack and an employee of the IRS were killed.
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