False threat led to Naval Academy lockdown and then mistaken shooting

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A publish on an nameless chat platform triggered a lockdown on the U.S. Naval Academy this week, and authorities investigating what turned out to be a false report of a gunman then shot and injured a midshipman who had mistaken them as a risk, a navy official mentioned Friday.

The bottom that hosts the academy went into lockdown round 5 p.m. Thursday after it acquired a risk. Nonetheless, the official mentioned the risk wasn’t actual — it got here from a pc belonging to a former midshipman who was later confirmed to be in one other a part of the nation. The official spoke on situation of anonymity to talk freely about an ongoing investigation.

In the course of the lockdown on the Naval Academy on Thursday, the Navy mentioned in a press release on the time that it was responding to “reviews of threats” however that the lockdown was “out of an abundance of warning.”

Police have been seen close to Bancroft Corridor, which homes midshipmen in additional than 1,600 dorm rooms. It’s thought of the largest single school dormitory on this planet, in keeping with the college’s web site.

On-line hypothesis and misinformation led to reviews that ranged from an assailant who was wearing a police uniform to a number of injured midshipmen.

Colin Campbell, a scholar at close by St. John’s School, mentioned he heard a number of alarms go off on the academy after 5 p.m., warning of an “energetic risk” over loudspeakers.

“It was terribly loud, a number of audio system going off on the identical time,” mentioned Campbell, who was strolling close to the academy on the time.

About 90 minutes after the lockdown took impact, the college’s deputy commandant emailed college students, telling them that as regulation enforcement labored to safe the college, a midshipman mistook police for a risk and engaged them, in keeping with the official.

The official added that the midshipman was armed with a parade rifle and struck an officer within the head. Regulation enforcement, in flip, fired on the midshipman, hanging him within the arm. The account was reported earlier by The New York Occasions.

Hours later, at 9:40 p.m., a Navy assertion confirmed that there was no risk of an energetic shooter and that one particular person was flown by helicopter with accidents however was in steady situation. The lockdown was lifted shortly after midnight.

The wounded midshipman has been launched from the hospital, the academy mentioned in a press release Friday. A member of the naval safety drive additionally acquired minor accidents, the academy mentioned, and was handled at a hospital earlier than being launched.

“A full investigation into the incident is underway with NCIS and regulation enforcement,” the academy mentioned in a information launch.

Lucille Trott, who attends St. John’s School and lives throughout the road from the academy, described listening to the alerts and what adopted as a terrifying expertise after every week of gun violence within the nation.

“On 9/11, the week that we’ve been having, so many shootings, a lot gun violence, I really feel like there must be a significant shift in simply the local weather proper now,” Trott mentioned. “All of it simply makes one huge stress cooker.”

Toropin reported from Washington.

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