Shooting outside NSA HQ injures 1

A shooting erupted yesterday outside the suburban Washington headquarters of the National Security Agency, a secretive intelligence organization responsible for global US electronic eavesdropping, leaving at least one person injured, officials said.

NBC News aired aerial images of what appeared to be police surrounding a man on the ground in handcuffs outside the NSA facility in Fort Meade, Maryland.

A black SUV appeared to have crashed into a concrete barrier surrounding the site, and bullet holes were visible in the vehicle's front windows.

"We can confirm there has been one person injured and we don't know how the injuries occurred," an NSA spokesman told AFP.

The local ABC affiliate put the number of injured at three and said a suspect was arrested.

A law enforcement source said the FBI's Baltimore office was handling the investigation but it was "too soon to tell" whether it was an attack.

Known as the "Puzzle Palace," the NSA is the nerve center for US electronic espionage as well as the main protector of US communications and information systems from cyber attack.

Known as the "Puzzle Palace," the NSA is the nerve center for US electronic espionage as well as the main protector of US communications and information systems from cyber attack.

The agency was thrust into the spotlight in 2013 when former contractor Edward Snowden leaked details of its global surveillance programs, including its collection of data on Americans.

Snowden has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property. He now lives in exile in Russia.