Congressmen: Active shooter false alarm caused by alert error

Two Maryland congressmen who raised concerns after a false alarm about an active shooter caused an 80-minute lockdown at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center campus last month say they are satisfied the U.S. Navy is “taking proactive steps” to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, who was at the Bethesda military hospital at the time of the incident, and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who represents the area, issued a joint statement on the matter Friday after receiving a briefing from Navy officials Tuesday, they said.

“After a lengthy discussion, we are satisfied that Naval officials share our concerns and are taking proactive steps to correct deficiencies identified during this event,” the congressman said.

The Nov. 27 lockdown led many military personnel and other patients to barricade doors and hide in back rooms, fearing they were in danger of being shot. Ruppersberger tweeted about the incident from a back room behind a pharmacy in the hospital before he was aware it was a false alarm.

In their statement Friday, the congressmen said that, according to their naval briefing, the incident began when a service member assigned to one of the entities housed on the campus “inadvertently sent messages stating ‘Exercise Active Shooter’ and ‘Exercise Suspicious Package’ ” to about 4,000 people — via voice calls, text messages and emails.

That service member was preparing for a drill and only intended the message to go to a small group, but was not properly trained to use the system, the congressmen said.

About 15 minutes later, a clerk in an oncology unit reported receiving phone messages about an active shooter. That person did not recall hearing the word “exercise” or “drill,” and set into motion “pre-planned responses for an active shooter event,” the congressmen said.