US: Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey all clear after ‘active shooter’ fears, lockdown lifted

An “active shooter” situation was reported at an airbase in the US state of New Jersey, on Thursday (Oct 26) and was briefly placed on lockdown. However, less than an hour later, the lockdown was lifted and all members of the airbase were reported to be safe.

In the first post on X, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst said that an “active shooter” was reported on the JBMDL premises in building 5231 and that all personnel were to lock down until further notice while those outside were asked to “take cover”.

However, less than an hour later, the airbase in an update said that they were no longer under a lockdown and confirmed that all JBMDL members were safe.

“We appreciate the public’s continued support,” the post added.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the alert and further information on what led to the incident was not immediately released.

A military official told the USSun that it was a false alarm.

“We received notification of an active shooter on the Joint Base. After investigating the incident, it was found that there was no active shooter,” said a spokesman for the base.

Maine mass shooting

The incident at the airbase was reported hours after mass shootings in the US state of Maine.

Local police in the state said they were on the lookout for the assailant who opened fire in a bowling alley and a bar in the city of Lewiston, claiming the lives of 18 people and wounding 13 others.

An intense manhunt is spread across southern Maine, while shelter-in-place orders were issued for various parts of the state by the Maine State Police as of Thursday afternoon.

The ongoing manhunt is to find the main suspect linked to the incident, Robert R. Card, a US Army reservist who was stationed out of Saco, Maine. According to the police he had been admitted to a mental health facility over this summer.

He was also reportedly “hearing voices” and threatened to shoot up the National Guard Base where he was stationed.

(With inputs from agencies)