False Active Shooter Drill Locks Down Osan AB
I wonder who screwed up and sent out this automated message or did a student conduct a hoax?
SEOUL, South Korea – An installation-wide lockdown at Osan Air Base was lifted around 12:45 p.m. Monday following a security forces sweep of Osan schools after a teacher received a phone call indicating there might be a shooter on base, according to the 51st Fighter Wing.
An earlier post on the wing’s Facebook page said no unusual activity had been reported, and the search for a possible shooter appeared to be largely over.
At 11:58 a.m., a post attributed to Osan American High School Principal Morgan Nugent said a teacher received a call “that sounded automated” claiming an active shooter drill was taking place, and immediately reported the call:
“There was no scheduled school shooter drill on base so we decided to (err) on the side of safety and went into a full school lockdown. Security Forces have responded to the school and are doing a sweep of the whole school and its perimeter. Once we are given an all clear we will go ahead and continue the school day as is and with a chance for a debrief to our kids at the end of the school day. Ultimately though your children are safe and we will continue to keep them safe. Once we are given an all clear we will go ahead and continue the school day as is with a chance for a debrief to our kids at the end of the school day.”Nugent was not immediately available for comment.
Several security forces personnel and vehicles were spotted around 11:15 a.m. at the base’s middle school and high school. The base was otherwise deserted as the season’s first snow flurries fell, with a loudspeaker repeating the same message every few minutes in both English and Korean: “Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown. Seek safety and shelter.” (Stars and Stripes)
You can read more at the link.
Locking down a schools is one thing. Locking down an entire military base for 2 hours is quite another. I wonder how much that cost the American tax payers? Millions? Work delayed, appointments missed and needing to be rescheduled, passengers unable to get to Incheon and missing flights.
Two hours to figure out an alert had been inadvertently sent out? This was reported in the US and Korean national media. It doesn’t really inspire confidence in our competence. Somebody’s got some more ‘splaining to do.
Sounds like a fun new way for a student to apply Google Speech.
Unless there is incompetence beyond imaginination on the part of Osan (a possibility), they have already gotten the calling phone owners’ information.
Of course they could have called from a payphone… but I never saw that level of sophistication from Osan dependents.
…and there is enough video surveillance in Korea that no payphone goes unnoticed.
My money is on a student messing with a teacher.