Texas Air Force base placed in lockdown after gunman fires up to eight shots

Lackland Air Force Base later issued an update to say there was no ‘active shooter’ situation

Joint Base San Antonio was placed under lockdown Tuesday morning after an ‘active shooter’ alert was issued (Joint Base San Antonio / Facebook)

Military officials in Texas placed Lackland Air Force Base under lockdown after gunshots were fired into the base on Tuesday morning.

Brigadier General Russell Driggers told a press conference that six to eight shots were fired at about 10am by someone off-base.

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Security forces and San Antonio Police Department issued an ‘active shooter’ alert while responding to the shooting and ordered military personnel to remain in lockdown.

Brig. Gen. Driggers said the alert was lifted two hours later, and normal operations have resumed.

Brig. Gen Russell Driggers, commander of Joint Base San Antonio, briefed reporters after a shooting at the base on Tuesday morning. (KXAN)

“At times like these with the events that have been happening recently, we want to take these types of situations very seriously,” he said.

Law enforcement and security officers at the base, part of Joint Base San Antonio, responded after several shots were heard near the base at around 10am.

Just over two hours later, the base announced it had reopened and there was no longer any threat.

The San Antonio Police Department also issued an update just before 11.30am to say they were investigating gunfire at a gate to the military base on the Medina Base Rd and it was not an active shooter situation.

“Officers are continuing to investigate but there is no threat to the public,” police said in a statement.

There are no reports of injury, KXAN reported. 

The initial alert said that security forces and local law enforcement were responding to reports of gunshots heard off-base in the vicinity of Lackland Air Force Base.

ACTIVE SHOOTER ALERT (REAL WORLD) - Security forces and local law enforcement are currently responding to reports of gunshots heard off-base in the vicinity of Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland AFB. As more information becomes available, we will provide updated information.

— JointBaseSanAntonio (@JBSA_Official) June 14, 2022

Joint Base San Antonio said in an update just after midday that facilities on a large section of the base including the 341st Training Squadron training complex remained on lockdown while security forces checked the area.

It asked military personnel and members of the public to stay away from the area.

Lackland Air Force Base is one of three military bases that comprise Joint Base San Antonio, situated in the suburbs of southwest San Antonio.

Lackland Air Force Base’s primary role is to provide recruits with basic military training.

In 2016, a student with the 342nd Training Squadron shot and killed the unit’s commander Lt Col William Schroeder before killing himself.