Two Navy civilian police officers were left wounded after an unauthorized knife-wielding man attacked them while attempting to enter a Connecticut base on Thursday night, authorities said. FBI and State police are handling the ongoing investigation.
While one officer was knifed in the leg during a confrontation with the suspect, the other one was caught in a crossfire that followed the intrusion at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, New London, the Associated Press reported.
Both officers were treated and released from Lawrence + Memorial Hospital at 10:30 p.m., according to officials.
Around 7 p.m. Thursday, an officer guarding the submarine base spotted a male trespasser attempting to enter through a pedestrian main gate, a spokesperson from the Navy's media department said. When the "belligerent" assailant threatened the security naval civilian with a knife, the officer fired warning shots at him, Navy officials said.
However, the shots fired by the security officer ricocheted, instead striking an unsuspecting naval civilian officer. The second naval civilian officer suffered a minor stab wound to the leg, but the circumstances surrounding his injury remain unclear.
Following the incident, the uninjured suspect was taken to a local hospital for observation and then taken into custody at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. His name has not been released yet.
The officer who fired the shots was also taken to the hospital, but just for evaluation, according to FoxCT.
Besides Groton Police and police from the naval base, State Police and the FBI also were on the scene investigating.
On Friday, the main gate remained close, but the other gates were kept open, Navy officials said, adding that the base is not locked down.
Meanwhile, known as the "Home of the Submarine Force," the Connecticut base is home to 15 nuclear-powered attack submarines, with more than 21,000 civilian workers stationed at the base alongside active-service personnel.
