Air Force base in Ohio says no active shooter, cites confusion over drill

An active shooter situation reported at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base hospital in Dayton, Ohio, on Thursday turned out to be a false alarm, officials said.

Wright-Patterson’s official Twitter account posted a statement Thursday afternoon saying that base personnel were undergoing an active shooter scenario when an “unknown individual called 911 believing that there was a real-world incident occurring within the base hospital.”

“Upon investigation, it was determined that the incident at the MTF was not an actual active shooter incident,” the base said in its statement.

pic.twitter.com/2ZGCZvStnX

— Wright-Patterson AFB (@WrightPattAFB) August 2, 2018

A previous statement from the base’s Twitter account stated that personnel had been ordered to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter at the hospital.

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“At approximately 12:40 p.m., base emergency responders (security forces, fire department) responded to a reported Active Shooter incident at the base hospital. Base personnel have been directed to shelter in place until the incident is investigated,” the statement said.

“Our first priority in any emergency incident is to protect the men and women at Wright-Patt. Our base security forces defenders and fire department personnel are trained to quickly assess situations and take necessary action. An investigation is under way.”

Our first priority in any emergency incident is to protect the men and women at Wright-Patt. Our base security forces defenders and fire department personnel are trained to quickly assess situations and take necessary action. An investigation is under way.

— Wright-Patterson AFB (@WrightPattAFB) August 2, 2018

Wright-Patterson’s public affairs director, Marie Vanover, had told the Dayton Daily News that additional details would be made available to the media as the base learns more about the incident.

“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,” Vanover said. “No additional details are available at this time and info will be released as it becomes available.”

Officials at nearby Wright State University had advised students in a tweet to avoid the area near the military installation as a precaution after initial reports.

We are hearing reports of an active shooter situation at WPAFB. This poses no threat to our campus; however, please stay away from the base. Tune into your local news source for updates. Our thoughts are with our friends at the base.

— Wright State University (Dayton, OH) (@wrightstate) August 2, 2018

Updated at 4:08 p.m.