Joint Base Andrews: Man With Weapon Arrested

A vehicle drove through a security checkpoint at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on March 6, 2022, and a person with a weapon was arrested. No shots were fired, the base said in a news release.

JBA is where Air Force One is kept. The vice president and members of the presidential cabinet had just left the base.

“At approximately 9 p.m. on March 6, 2022, one vehicle drove through the security checkpoint and failed to adhere to commands of security personnel at the Main Gate,” the news release said.

Joint Base Andrews is an United States military facility located in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

The motive and suspect identities were not clear.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Individuals Fled the Scene, the Release Says

The release says:

The 316th Security Forces Group immediately deployed the barriers and stopped the vehicle. Two individuals fled the vehicle, and one was apprehended by 316th SFG. One individual remains at large.

We can confirm that the individual who was apprehended had a weapon, but no shots have been fired.

There is not an active shooter situation at Joint Base Andrews; however, the intruder’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

The main gate remains closed at this time. Base traffic is being diverted to the Virginia Gate.

The initial reports broke of a possible active shooter or active shooters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, via reporters on the ground. That information initially came from an NPR reporter who was at the base.

Early reports on active shooter situations can sometimes end up being wrong.

“I have no information other than this, but I am told JBA is on lockdown right now due to reports of an active shooter. Another reporter and I are in a shuttle van that is being held due to situation,” wrote NPR’s White House Correspondent Scott Detrow on Twitter early on in the situation. “The VP had already left base on Marine 2.”

He added: “JBA = Joint Base Andrews. This is the base Air Force One takes off from. Again, I’m just in a van reporting what I see. A couple sirens just went by.”

Journalist Roland Martin tweeted, “LONG line to leave @Andrews_JBA. There are reports of an active shooter. We are at a standstill.”

Here’s what you need to know:

A Reporter’s Van Was Searched

Detrow provided other updates on Twitter just before 9:30 p.m. on the east coast.

Detrow also wrote on Twitter, “Guards stopped the shuttle reporters take from the terminal. They had rifles out and searched our van. Again, Harris and SGOTUS left already in Marine Two. We have asked for updates on the cabinet members who were also on the flight: Cardona, Buttigieg, and Fudge.”

He also wrote, “No sirens for awhile, but many police cars driving slowly around the base. Still no clear big picture information on what’s happening.”

He also wrote, “Meanwhile our shuttle has been searched for a second time. The soldier who searched tells us this is a confirmed armed individual but no shots fired. But again, this is from someone who just came on our shuttle not an official statement.”

Reports Referred to an ‘Armed Man’

MoCO PG News, an independent news site, tweeted, “ARMED MAN BYPASSES JOINT BASE ANDREWS GATE– US Park Police & JBA military police are searching for two men, one armed with an unspecified weapon, who got out of a black Ford Edge & ran past the security gate.”

Authorities have not confirmed the information.

The website for JBA says,

Joint Base Andrews plays a dynamic and critical part in the defense of our nation. It has evolved from the muddy fields and wooden buildings of the 1940s supporting the P-47 Thunderbolt and F-80 Shooting Star, to a modern airfield supporting multi-million dollar nationally significant mission assets including Air Force One, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the KC-135 Stratotanker, and the UH-1N Huey, solidifying itself as ‘America’s Airfield.’

It notes,

The history of Andrews Air Force Base dates back to the Civil War when the Union occupied a small country church as its headquarters for soldiers camped nearby. Today, that church is known as Chapel Two, and the base community still uses it for worship services.

This story is being updated as more information is learned about the active shooter reports at Joint Base Andrews.

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