New info expected on Wright-Patt incident
Colonel to discuss board findings on Aug. 2 active shooter chaos at base.
New findings about the false activ e shoo t er i nc i d ent on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in August will be released today.
Col. Thomas Sherman, 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander, will discuss the findings of the Incident Review Board he ordered to examine all aspects
of the Aug. 2 active shooter incident that occurred at the Wright-Patt Medical Center.
The Incident Review Board looked into the overall execution of the response to the incident, evaluating actions such as response time, coordi- nation with outside agencies and command and control.
On Aug. 2, chaos erupted on base after a report of an active shooter at the hospi- tal in Area A.
About a half mile from the hospital in the Kittyhawk area of Area A, base personnel were conducting a planned installation exercise that involved an active shooter scenario. Base personnel were notified of the exercise ahead of time. It involved brightly colored, clearly fake weapons and no real or simulated gunfire, base spokesperson Daryl Mayer said.
The scenario was halted when someone reported what, at the time, what was believed to be a real active shooter situation at the hospital around 12:40 p.m. Upon receiving that call, security forces responded to the hos- pital and began a systematic sweep of the 99,000-squarefoot facility.
Hundreds of police on scene
The incident temporarily closed all gates and drew responses from upward of 100 local, state and federal law enforcement officers. During the sweep of the medical facility, a law enforce- ment member who has not been identified discharged a weapon, reportedly to gain access to a locked door on the first floor.
Officials have not confirmed how many shots were fired, after initially saying just one.
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, called the use of a firearm to breach a door “highly unusual and highly questionable.”
The Dayton Daily News was told numerous times by base officials there were no injuries to report. Sherman said everyone on base was safe during a news confer- ence on the day of the alarm.
Base spokeswoman Marie Vanover later said a “defender” suffered a minor laceration during the inci- dent and returned to work the next day.
A woman who said she was inside the locked room posted photos on Facebook that show what appear to be bullet-sized holes in a wall next to a door. That woman said she and other employees felt “real terror.”
Multiple calls to 911
Wrigh t -Patt e rson Air Force Base officials would not release the 911 call that prompted a response to a reported active shooter at the base hospital until the investigation into the incident is completed. Recordings of that call are expected to be released today.
Other agencies bordering the base also received 911 calls about the incident.
A caller from inside the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center called Greene County 911 to report an active shooter. The call to Greene County came 19 minutes after Wright-Patterson officials said they received a call to their defense operation center that prompted a response on a report of an active shooter at the hos- pital.
“Help help,” the female caller whispered to Greene County dispatchers. “Wright-Patterson Air Force Base ... active shooter Building 830.”
Kathy Platoni, a psychologist for Dayton SWAT who was at Fort Hood in 2009 when a man shot and killed 13 people, said the incident may have been “terrifying” to some at the base and encour- aged people to talk about it to one another.
“I think people talking to one another and sharing their fears and concerns is probably the best medicine of all, but these are all normal reac- tions,” she said.
Months after the active shooter scenario, several questions remained unan- swered about the chaotic incident. The Dayton Daily News filed a formal request for the tape of 911 calls under the federal Freedom of Information Act months ago.
This newspaper expects to learn more details about what caused the initial report of an active shooter, the varying response from law enforcement agencies and why a fire- arm was used to breach a door in the hospital.