Active shooter hoax at US Naval Academy results in injuries
What began as a report of an active shooter at the U.S. Naval Academy turned out to be a hoax. However, the confusion on campus resulted in a student mistaking an officer for a gunman.
Officials say the student struck an officer in the head with a rifle. The officer shot at him, hitting him in the arm. Officials expect both to recover.
Campus placed on lockdown
The incident occurred after academy officials placed the campus, located in Annapolis, Maryland, under lockdown. An anonymous chat platform sparked concerns of an active shooter on campus.
Students and staff got an email warning that said, “Get inside and lock your door right now. Not a drill.”
Investigators say they traced the threat to a former midshipman on a chat site logging in from his parents’ home in the Midwest. They determined there was no active shooter present on site.
Ambulances gathered at a staging area during the lockdown, and nearby military base officials responded to the initial reports of a shooting.
By 9 p.m., the Baltimore Sun reported the academy remained on lockdown, with people told to avoid the area.
Navy Secretary John Phelan shared an update on X on Thursday night. He said as of 9:26 p.m. CST, the base remained on lockdown.
The Naval Academy
The academy, which is located on the banks of the Severn River, is a four-year college that prepares students to be commissioned as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps.
There are approximately 4,400 students, or midshipmen as they’re called on campus, enrolled at the academy.
Previous incidents nationwide
Hours before the academy went on lockdown, there was a false report of an active shooter at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Around 5 p.m. Thursday, police confirmed there was no ongoing threat on campus.
The hoax also comes just one day after someone assassinated right-wing activist Charlie Kirk while speaking on a college campus in Utah. The manhunt for his killer is still underway.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
