Just doing their jobs, Pentagon officers say

The three officers who returned fire after a heavily armed gunman began shooting last week outside the Pentagon said Monday that they were simply doing their jobs and reacted automatically.

"There was a lot of chaos. Fortunately for us, our training kicked in," said Officer Marvin L. Carraway, 44, who was shot in the thigh during the incident. "Once the shooter went down, we approached.... The shooter didn't move, and basically that was it."

Carraway and Officers Jeffrey Amos and Colin Richards, who are part of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, appeared on CNN Monday. All three returned fire after alleged gunman, John Patrick Bedell, began shooting.

Amos said he was stationed at the exit of the Metro rail station just outside the Pentagon entrance when he heard the telltale pop-pop-pop sound of gunfire and ran to help. As soon as Bedell was down, Amos said he returned to his post near the exit to make sure that no one was trying to ambush the site from the rear.

Investigators later said they believe Bedell was acting alone.

Richards, who was not injured, said: "Everything happened in a split second." He said he was surprised he had not been hit by any of the shots fired by Bedell, who was carrying two semi-automatic handguns.

Carraway said the shooting will not affect how the officers do their jobs. "We work hard, we train hard," he said. "Our mission is to protect the Pentagon and its tenants."

See full Pentagon shooting coverage.

-- Debbi Wilgoren