Eielson Air Force Base was on lock down for nearly an hour on Wednesday afternoon following an inaccurate report of an active shooter on base. Emergency responders with the 354th Fighter Wing are in the midst of week-long training exercises.
“During the time, we practice dealing with all kinds of emergencies whether it be stuff that happens with our runway,” Captain Joost Verduyn, Public Affairs Officer for the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson, said. “We practice all kinds of things to make ourselves better at what we do and maintain our edge. And this just happened not part of that but happened at the same time as a result of people being a little bit busier and a bit more on edge while they are practicing.”
Verduyn says similar situations are generally part of training exercises, but the incident was unplanned. Members of the 354th secured the scene and determined there was no actual threat to the base.
Normal base operations have resumed.
