Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon after an alert was sent to base personnel telling them to shelter in place following reports of an active shooter incident in the Wright-Patt base hospital.
The base sent an all-clear to personnel around 3:40 p.m. advising them that the threat had passed and that there was no real world active shooter incident on the air base.
According to a statement from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, someone called 911 believing that there was a real-world active shooter incident occurring at the same time the base was running an Active Shooter scenario. As a result, security forces responded to the scene and began a sweep of the hospital, clearing it of any possible threats.
At one point, a security forces member used his firearm to open the door and complete the search of the facility.
The scene was eventually declared safe and people are being asked to stay away from the medical center on base for now.
The incident began this afternoon at around 12:40 p.m. local time when an emergency alert was sent to all base personnel advising them to take cover and limit communications to emergencies only.
“Emergency responders are enroute. All WPAFB Gates are Closed. All personnel take cover. Limit all communication to emergency use only,” the alert says.
A followup tweet from the Wright-Patterson AFB's twitter account, authorities explained that responded to the threat around 12:40 p.m. local time and were working to contain it.
“At approximately 12:40 p.m. today our base emergency responders which included security forces and fire department personnel reported to an incident in building 830, which is the Wright-Patterson hospital. No additional details are available at this time and info will be released as it becomes available,” said Marie Vanover, director of public affairs at Wright Patt.
According to WDTN, a man barricading himself on the fourth floor of the base hospital is what prompted the initial alert.
Loudspeakers at the base asked people to stay where they are and shelter in place.
The base has more than 27,000 military, civilian and other contractor employees employed there and is located on more than 8,000 acres of land. The base provides operational support for around 100 units according to the Wright-Patterson airbase's website.
This is a breaking news update, more information will be added as it becomes available.