The all-clear has been issued at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after reports of an active shooter were deemed unfounded, the base said Thursday morning.
Joint Base Andrews was locked down just after 9 a.m. after someone mistook an active shooter drill for the real thing, senior law enforcement officials told NBC News. All personnel were directed to shelter in place.
Officials said first responders received reports of an “real-world active shooter situation” around the same time the base was conducting an active shooter exercise.
Someone on the third floor of the Malcolm Grow Medical Facility saw two people walking across the base with long guns, law enforcement officials told NBC News’ Pete Williams. The person didn’t know a drill had been planned and reported an active shooter.
The lockdown was lifted around 10:40 a.m., but the investigation at the medical center continues. Rodney Smith, a patient advocate at the Malcolm Grow Medical Facility, told The Associated Press the situation unfolded at the newer of two buildings. Smith was in the older building.
Joint Base Andrews, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is the home of Air Force One and to other emergency reaction units for the area around the nation’s capital.
Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to fly out of Joint Base Andrews Thursday morning for an event in Ohio, his office said. Biden is currently being held at the Naval Observatory.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson called the incident an “unfolding situation” during his testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.
"All Clear" for the base with the exception of Malcolm Grow medical facility
— Joint Base Andrews (@Andrews_JBA) June 30, 2016
The base was scheduled to conduct an active shooter exercise, however, reports of a real-world active shooter situation were reported.
— Joint Base Andrews (@Andrews_JBA) June 30, 2016
JBA is currently on lockdown due to a report of an active shooter. All personnel are directed to shelter in place. More info as it comes.
— Joint Base Andrews (@Andrews_JBA) June 30, 2016
Some military installations in the D.C. area increased their security in response to the incident at Joint Base Andrews.
Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia, said it increased its “security posture,” and the Washington Navy Yard in Southwest Washington ordered “100 percent ID check” and “long guns at entrance gates.”
Security was also heightened at the Naval Observatory in Northwest Washington and the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Carderock Division in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Prince George’s County — which would normally assist Joint Base Andrews during a security incident — said it was not assisting with any emergency response.
Last month, Joint Base Andrews was placed on lockdown after a woman walked onto the base and claimed she had a bomb. An Explosive Ordinance Disposal team found the woman had no explosives, and she was apprehended.
The base has a long, storied history. The first prisoners of war back from Vietnam in 1973 arrived at Andrews Air Force Base as did the U.S. hostages from Iran in 1981.
Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev was the first foreign head of state to fly into Andrews in 1959.
Construction on a military airfield there began in 1942 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was named Andrews Field in 1945 in honor of one of the founders of the Air Force, Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews. He had died in an airplane crash on May 3, 1943, the day the base opened.
The base’s name was changed to Andrews Air Force Base in 1947, shortly after the Air Force became a separate service in 1947. It combined with the Naval Air Facility Washington to become Joint Base Andrews in 2009.
Source: Active Shooter Report at Joint Base Andrews Called Unfounded | NBC4 Washington http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Joint-Base-Andrews-Under-Lockdown-385027091.html#ixzz4D4pWSggM
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heard the live radio announcement during the morning drive, laughed out loud so hard it hurt.
the original FM broadcast stated there was a drill scheduled that day but it was canceled and the report of the active shooter was for real.
f**k these fear peddling a**holes with a prickly cactus.