Man In Custody After Bomb Threat Hoax At Joint Base Andrews
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (WJZ) -- A man was taken into custody at Joint Base Andrews Friday afternoon after he claimed he had an explosive device in his car at the gate. It turned out to be a hoax.
According to authorities, the man drove up to the gate around 4:45 p.m. and said he had a bomb in his vehicle.
Following procedure, base security shut down the main gate and cleared the area of all personnel. The man was taken into custody and was questioned by base and local authorities.
"We take every threat seriously," said Col. Tyler Schaff, commander of Joint Base Andrews and the 316th Wing. "Our team took every precaution to keep our airmen and their families safe."
Bomb-sniffing military working dogs did an initial sweep of the vehicle and did not find anything relevant. Then a U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team responded and deployed an EOD robot to check the vehicle for an explosive device. An EOD team member also checked the vehicle while wearing a protective suit. The threat was deemed unfounded.
Security gave the all clear in response to the situation.
"Our first responders responded exceptionally well to today's incident. I am very proud of their efforts to resolve the situation and to keep our base safe and secure," Schaff said. "I'm also thankful for the exemplary support that we received from our off-base partners, including federal law enforcement."
The man was a civilian and has no links to the military, base officials said.
The rest of the base was unaffected by the incident and remained operational.
Correction: In an earlier version of this story, we reported an explosive device was found on the base. Although the man made that threat, it was unfounded.
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