The Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling commander said a lockdown this weekend was due to a service member carrying a ceremonial drill team training tool.
The base, located in Washington, D.C., was locked down after reports of a potentially armed person in the barracks around 1:30 p.m. Sunday. By 2:30 p.m., the base reported nothing was found and went back to normal operations.
JBAB Commander Navy Capt. Frank Mays said after reviewing security camera footage, the source of the threat came from a service member carrying a ceremonial drill team training tool. He said the item has the look and feel of a weapon but is actually a training device for service members assigned to ceremonial support teams.
"A concerned citizen saw what they believed was suspicious activity and a possible threat, and they notified law enforcement," he said. "They saw something so they said something. That is absolutely the correct response. In this case, we are fortunate that the threat was unfounded, but every report of suspicious activity is treated with the same level of credibility."
He said despite the distruption to the community, the system worked. Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is shared by the Navy and Air Force.
