Witness: Man who killed himself near Nats Park threatened to hurt coworkers

WASHINGTON - A man says an employee at D.C. Water who would later kill himself Tuesday suggested he was there to hurt coworkers inside the water authority campus near Nationals Park.

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Just before 1 p.m. Tuesday police were called to the workplace on O Street, Southeast across the street from the stadium.

Police said they got a call of an active shooter. They said 48-year-old Andre Bender of Southeast, D.C. shot himself outside the building after firing a shot in the direction of a witness.

The witness, who asked not to be named, told FOX 5 he worked with Bender and happened to be leaving the building at the same time when he noticed Bender had multiple guns.

The witness says he tried to talk to Bender to get him to calm down, but he suggested he was going to go inside and hurt someone. According to the witness, Bender recently either had an argument with a manager or was suspended.

"He just came through with two guns and just said he gon' stop playing. People gon' stop playing with me and I'm a show em," the witness said.

While the two talked, the witness says Bender fired a shot near him and went inside one of the buildings while the witness flagged down a guard to call police.

When police got to the scene they found Bender had shot himself.

The police activity prompted a lockdown of the Nationals players who were staying in nearby hotels, according to reports.

A police report says gunfire damaged a D.C. Water vehicle, but no one else was hurt.

In an email to employees, obtained by FOX 5, D.C. Water acknowledged an employee took his life on the campus and called Tuesday a sad day.

The email did not say that Bender entered the campus with a gun, as the witness reported. D.C. Water would not comment further. Police said the shooting is still under investigation.