ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A post on an anonymous chat platform triggered a lockdown at 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 threat, a military official said Friday.
The base that hosts the academy went into lockdown around 5 p.m. Thursday after it received a threat. However, the official said the threat wasn’t real — it came from a computer belonging to a former midshipman who was later confirmed to be in another part of the country. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about an ongoing investigation.
During the lockdown at the Naval Academy on Thursday, the Navy said in a statement at the time that it was responding to “reports of threats” but that the lockdown was “out of an abundance of caution.”
Police were seen near Bancroft Hall, which houses midshipmen in more than 1,600 dorm rooms. It is considered the biggest single college dormitory in the world, according to the school’s website.
Online speculation and misinformation led to reports that ranged from an assailant who was dressed in a police uniform to several injured midshipmen.
Colin Campbell, a student at nearby St. John’s College, said he heard multiple alarms go off at the academy after 5 p.m., warning of an “active threat” over loudspeakers.
“It was extraordinarily loud, multiple speakers going off at the same time,” said Campbell, who was walking near the academy at the time.
About 90 minutes after the lockdown took effect, the school’s deputy commandant emailed students, telling them that as law enforcement worked to secure the school, a midshipman mistook police for a threat and engaged them, according to the official.
The official added that the midshipman was armed with a parade rifle and struck an officer in the head. Law enforcement, in turn, fired on the midshipman, striking him in the arm. The account was reported earlier by The New York Times.
Hours later, at 9:40 p.m., a Navy statement confirmed that there was no threat of an active shooter and that one person was flown by helicopter with injuries but was in stable condition. The lockdown was lifted shortly after midnight.
The wounded midshipman has been released from the hospital, the academy said in a statement Friday. A member of the naval security force also received minor injuries, the academy said, and was treated at a hospital before being released.
“A full investigation into the incident is underway with NCIS and law enforcement,” the academy said in a news release.
Lucille Trott, who attends St. John’s College and lives across the street from the academy, described hearing the alerts and what followed as a terrifying experience after a week of gun violence in the country.
“On 9/11, the week that we’ve been having, so many shootings, so much gun violence, I feel like there needs to be a major shift in just the climate right now,” Trott said. “It all just makes one big pressure cooker.”
Toropin reported from Washington.