ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The United States Naval Academy was placed on lockdown Thursday and a building was cleared after reports of threats to the military school, and one person was injured and airlifted to a hospital, officials said.
Lt. Naweed Lemar, a spokesperson for Naval Support Activity Annapolis, said the person who was injured was transported by air to a hospital and was in stable condition. Naval Support Activity Annapolis security personnel and local law enforcement responded to reports of suspicious activity at the base that hosts the academy, Lemar said. He added that the academy was placed on lockdown "out of an abundance of caution."
Officials said a building was cleared as part of the response, but they did not immediately identify which structure had been searched or provide further details about the nature of the reported threats. A law enforcement presence was visible near Bancroft Hall, the sprawling dormitory that houses more than 1,600 midshipmen and is described by the academy as one of the largest single college dormitories in the world.
Authorities provided no immediate information on how the person was injured or whether the injuries were related to the reported threats. Naval Support Activity Annapolis and local police were the primary agencies involved in the response, Lemar said, and additional details were expected as the situation was reviewed.
The academy's lockdown and the clearing of a building were part of a coordinated security response. School officials and base security have procedures to restrict movement and secure facilities when threats or suspicious activity are reported; in this case, the lockdown was announced early in the response and later lifted as actions were taken to clear the affected area.
Officials did not provide a timeline for when the lockdown began or when normal operations would resume. They also did not release the identity of the injured person or details about any potential suspects. Local and base authorities indicated the investigation was ongoing and said they would release more information when it became available.
The Naval Academy, located in Annapolis, Maryland, trains officers for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and is situated on a base operated by Naval Support Activity Annapolis. Campus security incidents are handled by a combination of base security forces and local law enforcement, and authorities generally provide updates to the public as investigations progress.
As of the latest statement from base officials, the injured person remained in stable condition at a hospital and additional information about the incident and the reported threats had not been made public.