Armed man barricaded in Ariz. air base building

Sep 16, 2011

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

This undated photo shows Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Ariz. The base is the home of the 355th Fighter Wing and is adjacent to the boneyard for old military and government planes.

By U.S. Air Force/AP

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona is on lockdown as authorities investigate "suspicious activity." No one is being allowed in or out of the base.


Update at 7:02 p.m. ET: An unnamed military official also tells the Associated Press that a man with a gun is holed up in a base building.

Update at 6:35 p.m. ET: An armed man is barricaded inside one of the buildings, according to reports from The Arizona Republic and KVOA.
An unnamed source tells The Republic the man is in a room on the second floor of a building known as the "old dorm." Authorities are attempting to negotiate with the man, who is alone. No shots have been fired.
KVOA cites officials as confirming that an FBI team was dispatched to the base.
Update at 5:58 p.m. ET: KVOA-TV reports that the Pima County Regional SWAT Team and the Tucson Police Bomb Squad entered the base about 2:10 p.m. PT (5:10 p.m. ET).
Base officials have not released any more details.
Update at 4:26 p.m. ET: AP cites an unnamed military official as saying a special agent on the base reported that an armed individual had walked into a building. So far no one has been detained.
A tech sergeant tells KOLD-TV that a man was seen carrying "something gun-like" near an old base dorm that is now used for civil engineering training. It's unknown whether he was a civilian or military.
Update at 3:53 p.m. ET: An ambulance seen leaving the base earlier was taking a pregnant woman to the hospital and was unrelated to the lockdown, according to the base's Facebook page, USA TODAY's Donna Leinwand Leger tells us.
The update says the base is "responding to an unconfirmed report of an individual with a weapon."
By Douglas Stanglin
USA TODAY

Update at 3:28 p.m. ET: The base has issued a statement saying it is in a "heightened state of security" and is investigating "suspicious activity" at the base, which is on lockdown, but that "no shots have been fired, and no one has been hurt."

Update at 3:20 p.m. ET: KVOA says its reporter, Lorraine Rivera, was told by a number of people leaving the base that there was a "civilian shooter" on the facility.

Update at 3:15 p.m. ET: KVOA reports that the Tucson Fire Department responded to DMAFB for a possible patient with multiple gunshot wounds, but the TV station stresses that the report of shots remains unconfirmed.

Update at 3:10 p.m. ET: KPNX TV reports that emergency vehicles have entered the base. Tucson Fire Department vehicles are responding.

Update at 2:55 p.m. ET: KVOA reports that an employee of Sonoran Science Academy, which is located on the base, confirms that security forces told workers not to let any children out of the school and to remain on lockdown, but did not explain why.

Original post: The AP says Air Force Staff Sgt. Caitlin Jones refused to elaborate on the situation.

The base is best known as the boneyard for old military and government airplanes, the AP reports.

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