Walter Reed Guard Tells Police He Opened Fire on Co-Worker

An Iraq war veteran who was working as a contract security officer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center told authorities that he opened fire on a fellow guard this week at the military base in Northwest Washington, according to charging documents filed yesterday in court.

"I am the one you're looking for. I did the shooting," Dwan Thigpen, 33, told a U.S. Army police officer who was the first to respond to a series of shots fired Wednesday morning at one of the hospital's gates on Georgia Avenue NW.

Charged with assault with intent to kill, Thigpen appeared yesterday in D.C. Superior Court and was ordered by Magistrate Diana Harris Epps to be held without bond.

An exchange of words between Thigpen and fellow guard Terrance Jackson, in which Jackson was said to have called Thigpen "retarded," led to the shooting, according to police.

After being arrested and taken to a D.C. police station, Thigpen told investigators that he fired his gun 15 times and that he had been gunning for Jackson, according to the charging documents. The shots followed Jackson as he dashed across Georgia Avenue and down Dahlia Street, the documents stated.

No one was hit by the gunfire, which began just before 9 a.m., but the shooting made for a wild rush-hour spectacle outside the military hospital, which has faced scrutiny recently over the treatment provided to wounded veterans.

Wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants in court yesterday, Thigpen said nothing as he stood next to his attorney, Andrew Ferguson of the D.C. Public Defender Service. The attorney argued that the evidence outlined in the charging documents did not demonstrate the intent necessary to support the charge. Epps disagreed, saying that the number of shots fired was evidence of intent and that as a service member Thigpen certainly understood the lethal power of a firearm.

This is not Thigpen's first brush with the law. In 1994 in New York, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail on a weapons charge, according to a court profile prepared for the hearing.

An Army veteran, Thigpen served in Iraq in 2005 and was discharged in April 2006, according to a military spokesman. Thigpen continues to serve in the Army Reserve.

Born in New York, Thigpen had been living with relatives in the District and in Fort Washington since his discharge from the Army and had been working for a private security company the past four months, according to the court profile.

Thigpen and Jackson worked for Oakton-based Vance Federal Security Services.

Trouble unfolded when Thigpen, angered by Jackson's jokes, reached for his gun, police said. Another guard tried to restrain Thigpen, but he broke free and started shooting, police said.

As Jackson fled across Georgia Avenue, the gunfire continued, according to police. One round put a hole in the front of a parked Mitsubishi Eclipse. Another struck an Army truck parked nearby. A third bullet hit a utility pole.

Staff writer Josh White contributed to this report.