Chaos near Pentagon leads to officer’s death

An officer reportedly died after being stabbed during a burst of violence at a transit station outside the Pentagon, law enforcement officials later said.

Gunshots were fired on Tuesday morning near the entrance of the Pentagon, and the facility - headquarters of the US military establishment - was temporarily placed on lockdown.

A file photo of the Pentagon building. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) (AP)

An officer reportedly died after being stabbed during a burst of violence at a transit station outside the Pentagon, law enforcement officials later said.

Arlington County fire department reported there were “multiple patients”, but it wasn’t immediately clear if they had been shot.

The shooting incident occurred on a Metro bus platform that is part of the Pentagon Transit Center, the Pentagon Protection Force Protection Agency tweeted.

The facility is just steps from the Pentagon building, which is in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac river from Washington, DC.

An Associated Press reporter near the building heard multiple gunshots, then a pause, then at least one additional shot. Another Associated Press journalist heard police yelling “shooter”.

A Pentagon announcement said that the facility was placed on lockdown due to “police activity”.