All clear after shooting scare at US Navy Yard
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E-mail Xinhua, July 3, 2015
An all-clear was given after no evidence was found about the earlier reported shootings at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington D.C., the site of a rampage taking place in September 2013, said authorities Thursday.
"Right now the evidence is that there was no criminal acts here. No shots were fired," said D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier at a briefing, adding authorities didn't believe the report of the shooting was a hoax.
According to the police, a call was made from a building inside the naval installation about possible sounds of gunshots about 7: 30 a.m. EDT. Massive police units were present at the scene after the call and a lockdown order was imposed on the navy base.
The building in question was the same one where Aaron Alexis, a former sailor who was working at the Navy Yard, gunned down 12 civilian workers in a shooting spree in 2013.
"An employee thought they heard something of concern, they made a call," said Lanier.
Thursday's false alarm came at a time when law enforcement around the country was beefing up security measures in preparation for the coming July 4 Independence Day weekend as warnings of possible domestic attacks tied to the extremist group the Islamic State (IS) were issued by the authorities.
After a series of deadly attacks on Friday killed more than 60 people in France, Tunisia and Kuwait with strong indication of the involvement of the IS in each incident, concerns were raised that attacks would also happen in the United States during the forthcoming holiday weekend.
Although U.S. intelligence officials initially said that no evidence indicated coordination among the three overseas incidents, they noted that multiple factors may have inspired those attacks, including a recent statement by the IS, which called on followers to launch attacks at the group's enemies during the month of Ramadan.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week sent a bulletin to local law enforcement to step up security over the July 4 weekend. Though not mentioning a specific plot, the bulletin said that alertness should be elevated around Independence Day in case of an attack centered on the holiday.
The Pentagon on Wednesday joined FBI and DHS in issuing its own warning of potential "lone-wolf" attacks by IS supporters during the holiday weekend.
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