Joint Base Andrews Lockdown Was Part of Drill, 'Miscommunication'

Updated at 12:40 p.m.

Camp Springs, MD — A lockdown at Joint Base Andrews because of a report of a shooter on the grounds was a "miscommunication" tied to a scheduled emergency drill on Thursday, says a Prince George's County official.

Confusion reigned when the base began issuing tweets that an active shooter was reported, but no police or ambulance crews were called.

The barrage of Twitter warnings that led the public and some on the base to believe there was a gunman on the base began when reports of a real-world active shooter situation at the base medical facility were miscommunicated before the training exercise was able to begin, officials said.

JBA officials said there was a “misidentification” of the security forces emergency services team who were conducting a routine inspection of the facility.

“Fortunately, this was not a life-threatening situation," said Col. Brad Hoagland, 11th Wing and Joint Base Andrews commander. "We take all threats seriously and reacted to ensure the security of those on the base. I applaud the quick reaction of our first responders in keeping the safety of our JBA family a number one priority.”

About 10:35 a.m., the base said on Twitter: "All Clear. The lock down on base has been lifted." Three minutes later, base officials amended that to: "All Clear for the base with the exception of Malcolm Grow medical facility."

Mark Brady, spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire Department, said the incident was a training exercise.

Prince George's County Police told Patch that they had no units at the base and were trying to determine what was unfolding.

The Air Force base said via Twitter shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday: "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."

A few minutes later, officials said, "The incident is ongoing at the Malcolm Grow Medical Facility. First responders are on-scene now. All personnel continue to shelter in place."

Live TV footage of the base showed some gates closed but patients coming and going as normal from the base medical building.

Stars and Stripes reported the Pentagon noted there was a “barricade situation” on the third floor of Building 1060 at the Malcolm Grow Medical Facility and that the base was locked down as the situation was unfolding.

The reports of an active shooter incident were made at 9 a.m. The base was scheduled to conduct an active shooter exercise, but a real-world active shooter situation was reported, base officials said at 10 a.m.

Due to the serious nature of this report, the base reacted to ensure the safety of all personnel, military personnel said.

A Twitter user said the reported gunman was at "Bldg 1060, Medical Facility."

Base personnel on Twitter asked if this was part of a planned emergency drill but were told that the situation was not a drill.

NBCWashington says that Fort Belvoir in Virginia, the Washington Navy Yard and other military facilities increased security, requiring all IDs to be checked and more weapons at entrance areas.

Joint Base Andrews is best known to the public as the home of Air Force One, the aircraft that carries the president across the country and around the world.

But Joint Base Andrews is also home to the 79th Medical Wing, one of three medical wings in the Air Force. The wing facilitates medical services for more than 553,000 Department of Defense beneficiaries living and working across the National Capital Region.

The medical wing has an agreement with the Veterans Administration, Community Based Outreach Clinic in Camp Springs, which makes many of its services available to VA-eligible patients living and working in Prince George's County, the base says on its website. The wing also provides medics for National Special Security Events in the region, like the presidential inauguration and State of the Union address.

In May the base was on lockdown when a woman at the base's visitors center claimed she had a bomb strapped to her.

Patch will update this breaking news story.