A shooting incident occurred on a destroyer under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding (IS), a subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the largest defense shipbuilding company in the United States. A shipyard worker has been charged with murder in connection with the shooting, and the details of the incident are currently under further investigation.
Around 7:30 a.m. last Friday, August 22, Ingalls Shipbuilding reported a shooting to the Pascagoula, Mississippi, police department. Upon receiving the report, the police immediately responded to the scene. Following the incident, Ingalls Shipbuilding management immediately cordoned off the area and ordered all personnel to shelter in place.
At the time of the incident, approximately 8,000 workers were working at the shipyard. Police successfully identified the suspect by conducting a one-by-one investigation of thousands of workers, stating that “the entire process went very smoothly.”
After about 90 minutes of searching, the police successfully apprehended the suspect and found the body of the murdered employee at the scene. The police confirmed that the suspect was 25 years old and the victim was 27 years old.
According to information released by the Pascagoula Police Department, the suspect and the victim were both workers in the coating department of the Ingalls Shipbuilding and there was a conflict between the two. Reports said that the two had an argument and that the argument broke out again before the shooting.
According to information released by the Pascagoula Police Department, both the suspect and the victim are workers in the Painting Department of Ingalls Shipbuilding, and there was a conflict between the two. Reports state that the two had previously been involved in an argument and had another quarrel prior to the shooting incident.
There is currently no evidence to suggest that the suspect intended to attack other personnel or the warship itself.
US media reports say the shooting took place on the newly launched destroyer USS Jeremiah Denton, which had just undergone its christening ceremony. The warship did not suffer any significant damage.
It is worth noting that the suspect had been arrested multiple times in the past, but all charges were dismissed. It is currently unclear how the suspect’s firearm passed through security, and Ingalls Shipbuilding is investigating the matter. The firearm involved in the incident has not yet been found.
“Today is a tragedy we hoped would never happen at our shipyard,” said Brian Blanchette, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. “I am deeply saddened by today’s events and offer my deepest condolences to the families of the victim.”
This is not the first shooting incident at Ingalls Shipbuilding. The last one occurred 20 years ago. In 2005, a quality assurance officer at the shipyard shot two supervisors after his request for a transfer was rejected. The incident resulted in one death and one serious injury. The suspect eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Public records show that Ingalls Shipbuilding is dedicated to designing, building, and maintaining amphibious warships, destroyers, and Coast Guard patrol ships for the US Navy and US Coast Guard. As the largest supplier of surface combatants to the US Navy, Ingalls Shipbuilding is currently building four classes of warships simultaneously. Ingalls Shipbuilding employs more than 11,000 people.