Director of the FBI says agents mobilized nationwide after attack, urges public to contact bureau

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said the FBI and partner agencies mobilized across the country after a "horrific attack," collecting evidence, conducting interviews and coordinating with Department of Justice prosecutors.

"They did exactly what they were trained to do," the director said of Secret Service and other officers at the scene, and credited them with preventing the incident from getting "even worse." He repeatedly thanked interagency partners, including the United States Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the Metropolitan Police Department, for their rapid response.

The director described a multi-pronged operational response: the Washington Field Office deployed a mobile command center and evidence-response technicians to the scene; the FBI activated its NC3 (National Crisis Coordination Center) and established a Field Office command post; fixed-wing aircraft were used to transport evidence from California and Connecticut to the FBI laboratories in Quantico for expedited analysis. "We collected the shell casings on scene, including the firearms and the weapons," he said, adding those items were sent to Quantico for immediate analysis.

He said agents conducted interviews at a suspect's home in California and in New London, Connecticut, and that investigators lawfully entered a room at the Washington Hilton to obtain evidence included in the criminal complaint the U.S. attorney had filed. The director said those interviews "provided critical information" and that work to interview witnesses on scene was ongoing.

The director said the bureau was prioritizing follow-up among what he described as "almost 2,000" people who had been present and urged anyone with relevant information to contact the FBI. In the transcript he said, "1800, call FBI." The transcript does not include a full, standard-format tip line number; reporters should confirm the current FBI tip line number with the bureau for publication.

On public disclosure, the director said, "we will make public when appropriate to protect the integrity of this investigation" and emphasized that investigators must preserve due process. He said the public already had received "almost every single thing we know" within 48 hours and that additional information would be released "in short order" when it would not jeopardize the inquiry.

The director also thanked prosecutors and FBI support staff, saying many investigators and attorneys had worked through the night. He urged the public to recognize the work of federal agents and local officers, saying, "Each and every one of them deserves our thanks."

Investigators remain active on the case, and the director said the bureau will continue to coordinate with the Department of Justice and other partners and will disclose information when doing so does not compromise the investigation.