described a male, white male in military khaki camouflage. reports came in to the metropolitan police about an active shooter at the naval sea command building home to 3,000 employees. another individual a black male approximately 50 years of age wearing an olive green shirt also seen carrying a long gun. again last we heard definitively was that this was an active situation at the navy yard. these two individuals were at large as well as an alleged shooter who was deceased. several people have been evacuated to washington hospital and other medical facilities about two or three miles directly north of here. the city now ripple effect on pins and needles across the city here as well as a number of military buildings, obviously there are many here in washington have heightened

security today. we heard from the president, delaying his appearance, he appeared to talk about the economy, a long scheduled or at least it was scheduled just over the weekend, to talk about the five year anniversary about the economic collapse, the preposition as it were ahead of some bruising battles with house republicans in particular that he did speak. >> bruce: aat the top of that event, did get briefed several times. he phrase -- phrased it this way, several people were targeted, used that phrase, military personnel, individuals who served at the navy yard and other military facilities around washington. they know the dangers abroad, lard to be prepared for something like this here in the nation capital the president saying he wanted a seamless investigation. we are awaiting further word

here del. as i say it is thinning out a bit, the number of emergency responders on m street in southwest washington. you can still hear the helicopters above, other law enforcement helicopters have been swooping very low over this facility just in a matter of a couple hundred feet. at the outset of this trauma this afternoon, or this morning, we saw an individual appear to be rescued from the roof of one of those buildings, was loaded by rope, an individual was hoisted up and taken away. so a lot of conflicting report you're absolutely right del as the situation has unfolded. obviously a dramatic and significant security breach here. i should add other news organization he have recorded an identity of an individual that has turned out to be incorrect. we are being very careful given the unfolding nature of the drama and the conflicting information, really the dearth or the paucity of the

information, the last we heard, continues to be an active situation here, del. >> mike viqueira from southeast washington. please stand by. it is now five hours plus into this drama that continues to unfold in the nation's capital. you can only imagine this being a monday there, most people went to work after washing the redskins lose on sunday. it is a glum affair, and then a gunman opens fire. we want to play for you the audio of a naval officer. who says he is a lucky man. >> i'm a very lucky guy, one mat got shot i didn't. i looked down, the guy next to me who was standing talking to me was down on the ground.

>> others reporting similar situation as are d.c. officials. you heard mike indicate what we are looking at now is a situation that still has yet to be rofd. rofd -- resolved. j.j. green indicating the situation there is it is in a lock down. we saw a few, approximately two to three dozen glows, federal employees walk out a little more than an hour ago with their hands in the air but that is all we have seen as far as movement is concerned from inside the complex which is an indication that they may still be looking for a gunman or gunmen still inside. we don't know. that is unofficial information. simply speculation on my part. however we can report that the entire scene right now is not only an active scene, but it is an active crime scene, as we do know the associated press reporting ear earlier today thae of the shooters is dead. that is an active crime scene

that now has to be processed by thnumerous agencies on hand. you heard from that witness just moments ago. indicating what he saw. this was another witness who was asked if he thought it was all surreal. he indicated that being in the navy. i can tell you what he said. he said it's not the first time he's seen a fatality. keep in mind this is not only a federal installation, it is a military base. he says he knew that the man was an active shooter so he dropped. he said right now he had to leave the area. ran to the back of the building, jumped over a fence and ended up in a safe area with the rest of his co-workers, that being a summation of what it was that he said. looking at the graphic right now we can tell you where the washington navy yard is. you see the graphic there. it is on the banks of the anacoste river dates back from

the late 1700s used to round up the people where tha people aftn assassination. white house which is down the road on pennsylvania avenue. washington, d.c. being about ten square miles in area so it is not a massive area and everybody was affected. as you heard the president when he -- spoke and addressed the nation earlier today. he indicated he was keeping track of everything taking place on capitol hill -- consume -- washington navy yard. you heard mike viqueira say his speech was delayed 20 minutes because of it. we have new numbers now, my producer is telling me in my ear, the number of shot was, 12 shot, seven dead. and these numbers are coming in from reuters. and a police officer is

confirming the new fums. the new numbers new numbers. look for two suspects, one of the gunmen is now believed to be dead, the two others mike viqueira wearing military garb which has to send chills to official washington, especially in the major nadal hasan situation. mike, is mike there? >> we do have our shot up. there was a naval commander that walked by, on site during the shooting, happened 8:00, going on more than five hours, he described a harrowing scene. it is eery and hauntingly familiar. pop pop pop everyone diving for cover. obviously reminiscent of other

incidents in the past, you mentioned specifically fort hood. there are other incidents on the periphery of what's happening right here, just about three blocks, we are west of the navy yard, you can see the emergency response teams still behind me. one sergeant in the air force was here spoke to a group of media said he had spoken and exchanged text with his wife. obviously he is concerned because she remains inside the navy yard. an unfolding situation here. three hours since the initial reports that we heard from the chief of police, the metropolitan police and there are a number of police departments with jurisdiction here all coordinating with federal, state and local jurisdictions as well as city jurisdictions. the department of defense has its own police force, obviously defense intelligence, naval intelligence, along with atf, the whole alphabet soup, of washington coordinating all of them responding to a situation

that has unfolded now with an active shooter and as you idea del -- you described del, two individuals from an official source that were still at large within the navy yard. we have seen a number of vehicles leaving the scene. both accurate and inaccurate, we want to be careful not to report speculation. 12 shot, seven dead, including a police officer, many of them, many of the wounded evacuated just north of here three miles north of the washington hospital center, you can hear and perhaps see the helicopter that continues behind me here. still waiting for information of what has and continues to be a very chaotic scene here del. >> mike viqueira, southwest washington, d.c. we want to do a couple of

housekeeping chorgs for our audience so you -- anchors so c. there is that unfolding drama that is taking place in washington, d.c. as we continue to wait for ban ki-moon, who is expected to have a statement, the syrian chemical weapons attack. john if you can hear me one of the things that is fascinating, i've been thumbing through it as well as all of the other reporters i'm sure around the world, there are several photographs that leave little doubt that these were sophisticated rockets that were used to launch this chemical weapons attack. >> that's the main conclusion of this report. what we have here are the 20 inspectors who were in syria at the time when this attack

happened on the 21st of august. they are diverted to it. their report has come out pretty damning. surface to surface rockets were used carrying serin gas, there were numerous casualties. the clue is in the delivery system. the mandate of the inspectors was not to apportion blame remember but to say whether chemical weapons were used or not. we're going to pause for a second and take you down to the second floor of the u.n. building. secretary general of the united nations, ban ki-moon to comment on the report. >> thank you for your attention. today marks aing necessary step in the war's efforts to combat chemical weapons. the report of the united nations mission to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons in syria has concluded that chemical weapons were used on a relatively larger

scale in the butta area of damascus on august the 21st causing numerous casualties, particularly among civilians. this morning, i submitted a missions report to the security council and the member states of the united nations. we have also posted it online for all the world to see. the team of experts led by professor ok senstro deserves high praise. they faced dangerous circumstances including a sniper attack. they did their job in record time while upholding the highest professional and scientific standards. working with experts from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, opcw and the world health organization,

who, they showed the united nations at its best. the report makes for chilling reading. the team gathered testimony from survivors, medical personnel, and first responders. they collected biomedical evidence, and dozens of soil and environmental samples. the mission has provided the world with an impartial and independent account. the results are overwhelming and indisputable. 85% of the blood samples tested positive for serin. a majority of the environmental samples confirmed the use of serin. a majority of the rockets or rockets fragments recovered were found to be carrying serin. the findings are beyond doubt

and beyond the pale. this is a war crime and grave violation of the 1925 protocol and other rules of international law. customary international law. it is the most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since saddam hussein update them in halabja in 1988. worst example of massive chemical weapons in the last century. the international community has a responsibility to ensure that chemical weapons never reemerge as an instrument of warfare. syria's accession to the chemical weapons convention and as a belated acknowledgment that it possesses chemical weapons are welcome developments that come with strict obligations.

i also welcome the agreement to reach over the weekend between russian federation and the united states on a framework to eliminate syria's chemical weapons. i urged this morning the security council to act urgently to ensure enforcement, and compliance, with this plan. after two and a half years of tragedy, now is the time for the security council to show leadership, and exercise its moral and political responsibilities. there must be accountability for the use of chemical weapons. any use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, is a crime. but our message to them must be more than that. do not slaughter your people with gas. there must be also no impunity

for the crimes being committed with conventional weapons. the united nations commission of inquiry reported last week on a host of horrors being committed by both sides in the conflict from murder, rape and torture to indiscriminate shelling of civilian neighborhoods. that arms continued to flow to the country and the region. the humanitarian situation is desperate. people are leaving under siege. families face intolerable choices between the risk of remaining in place, and the risk of taking flight.communities that once lived in relative harmony are now torn with sectarian tension. one-third of the country's people have fled their homes,

the largest force of refugees and internally displaced persons in many years, causing instability across the region. all of the killing must end. the fighting must end. we need to do everything we can to bring the parties to the negotiating table. i stand ready to convene the international conference on syria in geneva as soon as possible. i look forward to a meeting with the foreign minister lavrov of russia and secretary kerry from united states -- >> you are listening to the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon. on the report, it is extensive, several serial numbers on surface to surface rockets.

ban ki-moon saying the evidence is irrefutable. 85% of the samples they took tested positive for serin gas. john kerrett, ban ki-moon mincing no words that this was a war crime. >> secretary general of the united nations, who has spent the best part of the last couple of hours locked away with the 15 members of the security council here at the united nations discussing the report and hearing the opinion of each of them on the way forward. as you were saying there was some pretty powerful language of what he had to say. he said the report made for chilling reading, it said that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale. numerous casualties particularly among civilians and he said the evidence was overwhelming and indisputable. it was a war crime, a grave violation of the antichemical

weapons protocol. and so he went on. the question is what happens next? we don't quite know. we know that john kerry, the secretary of state after his weekend with mr. being serger lavrov, turning into a security council resolution and there's talk about tha that happening or the course of the next two weeks. al jazeera is being told by the united nations that actually behind the scenes they are working to get this resolution tied down much swifter than that. next week is the general assembly where leaders from all over the world come to this place. they want to get it sorted out before then. already the russians are saying they're unhappy about what the british and french and americans are keen to see in that resolution wording that still refers to the use of force. so even though we're at this point with the report just

published we're already hearing words of warning from the russians who have a veto on the security council that they would not support quite possibly words that suggest the use of force is still on the table. del. >> john, one criticism of the report even before it was released was that it would say that chemical weapons were used in this case serin gas but i would not -- it would not point fingers as to who used those weapons. yet as i read this report it was like the drove a 1957 chevy but there's only one person who had a 1957 chevy. are you on that as well? >> that is spot on del, the united nations were on the ground when this happened on the 21st of august. ban ki-moon got them to look at this one diverted to look at the 21st outside of damascus.

their mandate was the same, to see whether chemical weapons had been used and not to apportion blame. in other words it is a bit like having a murder inquiry without ever saying who carried out the murder. that's what was being done. they did that for a very important reason, the syrian government holds all the cords. they got them there after many months of negotiations so they accepted the terms of the deal as laid out by the syrians but you're absolutely right. the key to this, what you must look for in all the reporting on this and if you ever read the document in full, is how it refers to the delivery systems. and just briefly, as i've said to you, it was surface to surface rockets. the rocket parts they found, contained plenty of serin gas, there was plenty of serin gas in the samples taken from the victims, and that is tantamount to saying, it was the syrian government, del. >> john terrett, joining us from

the united nations. we are going to take a break. before we do, i want to inform you there is still an unfolding scenario in washington, d.c, where there was that shooting if he washington navy yard. we have an updated number of victims updated number of wounded, the fbi has released a description of who they are work -- looking for. so we'll be right back.

>> we continue to watch the events that are unfolding in the nation's capitol in washington, d.c. shortly after 8:00, 8:20, police

believe three gunmen walked into if washington navy yard and opened fire. at least it is believed one gunman is contained snide the building, three shooters one or possibly all three in military fatigues, this according to a news conference between the police chief and the mayor that occurred about an hour ago. 8:20 is when the shots were fired inside the naval sea systems command building on the washington naval yard. the number of people that were shot could number as high as 12. the number of fatalities could number as many as seven. this according to an official spokesman a short while ago. so we're updating these numbers on the fly even as we speak. and then a short while ago, the fbi released this description of what they say is the suspect that they are looking for.

the fbi and police say they are looking for two potential suspects still in connection with this morning's shooting. the first suspect as you can see on the screen is believed to be a white male wearing khaki tan short sleeved military uniform and a beret hat. he was seen about 8:35 carrying a handgun. suspect number two is an african american male, wearing olive drab military uniform as well, carrying a land gun. he might also have a long gun or a rifle. if you have any information you are to contact 202-727-9099. tips hot line. again the number is 202-727-9099. joining us live right now is john matthews, he is the

executive director of the community safety institute. he is also the author of mass shooting six steps to survival. and john based on your knowledge of past shootings what can you tell us about this current event? >> we have to find out if this is a workplace violence or a mass, if it is workplace violence disgruntled employees, that is the number one cause for mass shootings in the united states. >> john as we look at this event unfold in washington, d.c. it defies workplace violence as there may have been three shooters. would this be the first? >> this would be the first multiple-shooter attack of workplace violence that we're aware of. usually it's a single disgruntled employee he's got issue at home and he's going to take it out on a primary target in the workplace and then anyone else who surrounds as a secondary target. that is why this is going to probably lead to a further investigation of is this a

coordinated multiperson terrorist attack like we saw down in fort hood with major hasan. >> john should we be surprised now adays with the fact that all three shooters are described by police as wearing some type of military garb? after all dating back to the days of columbine every mass shooting involves somebody that appears to be dressed the same way. >> we always call it, there is a term, called uniforming. these individuals want to get in uniform just like a police officer or a military person. part of their preparatory step is obtaining the clothing, the vests if they have vests to get that attire to put them in the proper mindset to carry out these attacks and certainly we are seeing many of these individuals, the first reports coming out say he looked like a tactical officer, it looks like a military officer or military type weapons.

these people are preparing, they're costuming in preparation for their attack. >> john matthews, thank you very much. throughout the morning our mike viqueira first raced to the sceefn in -- scene in his car then he jumped on metro. he is live. what is the latest information that you are receiving right now? >> del, this from the u.s. navy in a tweet just a few seconds ago. shelter in place order remains in place at the navy yard. the navy yard just about three blocks behind me on the south side of m street southeast whe where -- i am standing. these three shooters that we heard about an hour and a half ago and you just reported on, the two shooters at large wearing military fatigues we assume and we have no way of confirming this or knocking it down, are still on the grounds of the navy yard. whatever the case they remain at large. one would assume, judging from away we've heard from the u.s.

navy right now that the shelter in place order, the shelter in place directive that was given oall the personnel at the navy yard here some 3,000 employees including those of the navy sea command a vital organization within the u.s. navy that is housed here in southeast washington they are to remain locked down tight as they can be, within their offices, as the situation remains to be resolved. del. >> mike viqueira, thank you very much. we continue to follow the developments coming in from the nation's capitol. the numbers right now concerning the situation at the washington navy yard, seven dead, 12 wounded two people still at large. the washington navy yard on lock down. some 3,000 people holed up inside. we are now five hours plus into this crisis. the news continues at the top of the hour. i'm del walters coming to you live from new york city.

>> this is al jazeera. >> so you're watching the news hour live from our news center in doha. chemical weapons have been used and on a large scale. the findings of an investigation from syria made public, we're live at the united nations. at least seven people are dead after a shooting at a naval complex in washington, d.c. people work and living in the area are told to stay indoors. >> and we hear pop pop pop pop pop and i said