The U.S. Navy Yard in Washington is under lockdown Thursday morning, after unconfirmed reports of a gunman in or near the facility.
The U.S. Navy tweeted that it could not yet confirm an incident but that orders had been given to employees to shelter in place.
The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Park Police, one of many law enforcement agencies in Washington, had responded to reports of an active shooter and The Associated Press quoted Navy officials as saying there were reports that shots were fired and the facility was under lockdown.
A heavy police and fire department presence begins more than eight blocks away from the Navy Yard, located in southeast Washington, with roads blocked off and a helicopter hovering overhead.
VOA's Victoria Macchi is on the scene.
The Washington Navy Yard, the country's oldest naval installation, was the scene of a mass shooting in 2013 when Aaron Alexis, a lone gunman, killed 12 people. Alexis was a government contractor working at the facility.
Some material for this report came from AP.