Oh, no! Not again! Gunman reported at JSC.

[MikeJ]

There's a report of a gunman at the Johnson Space Center now.

I'm getting emails about it, and Fox News has a brief blurb on their web site, but no story yet.

[MikeJ]

OK, now there's a brief story at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267462,00.html.

[Will]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18233965/

A building at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was evacuated Friday amid reports that an armed person was spotted there, the space agency said.

NASA security personnel as well as Houston police responded to "a report about a person with a weapon" at Building 44 on the space center's campus, agency spokeswoman Lynette Madison told MSNBC.com. She said that personnel were evacuated from the building, and that the situation was "ongoing." Police commandos were surrounding the building and searching inside.

KPRC, Houston's NBC affiliate, quoted authorities as saying a gunman was reportedly barricaded in a second-floor office. However, police told NBC that they could not yet confirm that a gunman was inside.

NASA sent an advisory to center personnel telling them to "shelter in place until further notice."

Space Center Intermediate School, which is near the campus, was placed in lockdown mode as a precaution, district officials told KPRC. Parents were asked to not come to the campus until the all-clear is given.

Building 44 is a communications and tracking development laboratory on a remote part of Johnson Space Center's sprawling campus, far from the Mission Control buildings. Security officials were looking into the possibility that the facility was connected to other buildings via underground tunnels.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive

[nitrogen]

Is JSC a gun free zone?

[Will]

Is JSC a gun free zone?

I looked for info on their website. I found no indication one way or another. My guess is NO FIREARMS ALLOWED.

[stevie_d_64]

Is JSC a gun free zone?

Yes, and I was extremely familiar and annoyed with that policy...

It was a neat experience working there for a while, but I am glad to be out of that place...

My mother and sister still work there...

I just called my sister and she said she didn't go back to work from her lunch because of this, and mom's...Well she's somewhere...

What a mess!

[stevie_d_64]

Is JSC a gun free zone?

I looked for info on their website. I found no indication one way or another. My guess is NO FIREARMS ALLOWED.

Its a Federal facility with a capital "F"...

Big ole sign in the front gate telling you of the fact...

All vehicles and persons subject to search, and they love to search...They have this big awning (at the front gate) they erected after 9-11 to do so in the shade, and out of the rain...

[Will]

Is JSC a gun free zone?

I looked for info on their website. I found no indication one way or another. My guess is NO FIREARMS ALLOWED.

Its a Federal facility with a capital "F"...

Big ole sign in the front gate telling you of the fact...

All vehicles and persons subject to search, and they love to search...They have this big awning (at the front gate) they erected after 9-11 to do so in the shade, and out of the rain...

Sounds like that sign AND awning were a waste of taxpayer's money then.

[MikeJ]

I'm hearing rumors that someone was shot in Building 44. Just one person, not a mass killing, thank God. Still, any murder is a tragedy.

Needless to say, this will probably be another high-profile anti-gun news item, coming on the heels of the Virginia Tech shooting.

I do occasional work on site at JSC. Increased security will probably make getting into the place a real pain for the next few months.

[OverEasy]

Maybe that lady astronut in the diaper came back?

The Feds ought to be able to take care of things.

Look out for #1..........OE

[Will]

Update: A worker from Jacobs Engineering Group, one of NASA's subcontractors, was holed up inside the building, the company told KPRC, Houston's NBC affiliate.

[stevie_d_64]

"police commandos"???

Ok, I am sorry, and not meaning to really make light of this...But can anyone write (or at least volunteer to write) better "copy" for these networks and media types???

They actually get paid to write this stuff...

[stevie_d_64]

I believe this is about the time NASA and the contractors do their staff "re-orgs" and "re-bids" for contracts...

This Jacobs employee must have gotten wind of something that upset them slightly...

[Will]

I would imagine this type of facility would have it's own in-house "police commandos", given my perception of the nature of work done there.

StevieD, do you know if they have armed response teams or at least armed security?

[CHL/LEO]

NASA evacuated a building at the Johnson Space Center in Houston after a person with a gun was seen and a shot was fired, a NASA spokeswoman said Friday. A SWAT team has been sent to the scene, a source told CNN. One report indicates the suspect has barricaded himself in a building.

NASA spokesman James Hartfield told CNN gunshots were heard in the building. He added NASA security rules do not allow weapons on the property.

That really did a lot of good didn't it?