In 2013, Aaron Alexis, a former sailor who was working for a government technology contractor at the Washington D.C.’s US Navy Yard was involved in a mass shooting incident at the military facility just a mile south of the U.S. Capitol and three miles from the White House where 13 people were killed.
Yesterday, a false alarm was raised about a possible shooter at the same U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, which was later determined to be unfounded, resulted in hours-long lockdown, Wall Street Journal reports. This call rattled nerves amid heightened security for potential domestic threats ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend, which the FBI, DHS and other federal agencies had warned about. Click here if you missed it!
Authorities say that a call was placed around 7.29AM from one of the buildings inside the Navy yard about possible sounds of gun shots.
“An employee thought they heard something of concern, they made a call,” said Chief Cathy Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.
Todd Parker, an eye witness and a U.S. Navy financial manager, said “there was a lot of confusion initially” when the report of the active shooter first aired. He reported that the police arrived at the scene some minutes after the alarm was raised and that the response was more organized than the 2013 incident.
It was later revealed that there was no evidence of any shooting or injured personnel and that the alarm was a hoax. Activities resumed immediately after the clear signal was given.
