Gunman kills two Marines before committing that at Quantico base in Virginia

By ALEX GORE

Three people have died after a gunman opened fire killing two before shooting himself at Quantico Marine Base last night. Authorities were called to the scene at the Marine Corps Base in Virgina at 10.30pm yesterday and found one Marine dead at a barracks. In the early hours of today they found a second victim dead, along with the body of the suspected gunman, who died of self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A base spokesman had initially described the situation after the discovery of the first body as a standoff, with the gunman barricaded in the barracks. But officials later clarified that they was no stand-off, and that after the first shooting, police had the shooter 'isolated' in a barracks dorm room at the base's Officer Candidates School. No names have been released but both victims were Marines, one male, one female, according to Lt. Agustin Solivan.

Authorities believe the suspect was a staff member at the officer candidate school at the base. The base was put on lockdown after the shooting but the restrictions have been lifted. The bodies of the suspect and second victim were discovered when authorities entered the barracks, but officials have not said what prompted them to move in.

A message posted on the base's Facebook page last night told residents to remain in their homes with their doors locked, and to listen for instructions from the 'Giant Voice System' intercom. It read: 'An isolated shooting incident has occurred at Officer Candidate School. 'The suspect is still believed to be at large.

'PMO and Prince William County police have been dispatched. This is the most accurate and current information we have at this time.' An update added: 'The suspect has been barricaded by law enforcement personnel, but is currently not under custody.'

The base covers around 100 square miles close to the nation's capital, Washington D.C., and is home to a military and civilian population of more than 12,000. The FBI Academy, a training centre for the bureau's new special agents, is also based at Quantico. In 2010, the Quantico base was one of several targets of an ex-Marine reservist who, during five nighttime shootings, fired on military targets including the Pentagon. Yonathan Melaku, on two separate occasions, fired at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico. No one was injured and Melaku was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison.