Second Joint Base Andrews intruder at large after search

Authorities on Monday said the second intruder who drove through the security checkpoint at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday remains at large but is no longer on the grounds of the base.

The other intruder, a male 17-year-old who was armed, is in custody, according to a Monday statement from the air base. 

“The 316th Security Forces Group and local authorities concluded a full sweep of Joint Base Andrews Monday morning and found confirmatory evidence that the base intruder on the loose had departed the installation,” Joint Base Andrews said in a statement.

An investigation into the breach is ongoing.

A vehicle drove through the security checkpoint at Joint Base Andrews around 9 p.m. Sunday and “failed to adhere to commands of security personnel at the Main Gate” of the premises, according to a Sunday statement from the air base.

One of the two people in the vehicle was apprehended, while the other fled the scene. 

The main gate of the air base was closed for roughly six hours but reopened at around 3 a.m. on Monday, according to Joint Base Andrews.

The breach occurred the same night Vice President Harris and four cabinet secretaries landed at the facility after traveling to Selma, Ala., to participate in events commemorating the 1965 civil rights march known as “Bloody Sunday.”

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan were on the trip but a White House official told The Washington Post the four cabinet secretaries on the trip had all departed the premises safely.

Their plane had landed at around 9 p.m., according to The Post.

President Biden was not at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday night — he traveled from Delaware back to the White House on a helicopter, according to The Post.

Col. Tyler Schaff, 316th Wing and Joint Base Andrews installation commander, wrote in a statement that he was “incredibly proud of the quick actions of our Defenders to immediately deploy the barriers to stop last night’s stolen vehicle and then apprehend one of the individuals that had a weapon.”

“The Defenders handled the intense situation with discipline and calm professionalism,” Schaff added. “We are also thankful for our partnerships with local authorities, who responded rapidly on base to assist the 316th Security Forces Group throughout the night.”