Asia-Pacific
Osan Air Base lockdown precautionary
By
Stars and Stripes December 1, 2014
Ashley Rowland rowland.ashley@stripes.com
Stars and Stripes December 1, 2014
The Osan Middle School and Osan American High School were surrounded by members of the 51st Security Forces Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Dec. 1, 2014. An active shooter alert was announced approximately 10 a.m. this morning. (Armando R. Limon/Stars and Stripes)
The Osan Middle School and Osan American High School were surrounded by members of the 51st Security Forces Squadron at Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Dec. 1, 2014. An active shooter alert was announced approximately 10 a.m. this morning. (Armando R. Limon/Stars and Stripes)
51st Security Forces Squadron vehicles block the road toward Osan Middle School and Osan American High School at Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Dec. 1, 2014. An active shooter alert was announced approximately 10 a.m. this morning. (Armando R. Limon/Stars and Stripes)
51st Security Forces Squadron vehicles block the road toward Osan Middle School and Osan American High School at Osan Air Base, South Korea, on Dec. 1, 2014. An active shooter alert was announced approximately 10 a.m. this morning. (Armando R. Limon/Stars and Stripes)
Members of the 51st Security Forces Squadron block the road toward Osan Middle School and Osan American High School at Osan Air Base, South Korea on Dec. 1, 2014. An active shooter alert was announced approximately 10 a.m. this morning. (Armando R. Limon/Stars and Stripes)
The normally busy roads at lunch time were empty as an active shoot alert was announced at Osan Air Base, South Korea, approximately 10 a.m., Dec. 1 2014. (Armando R. Limon/Stars and Stripes)
SEOUL, South Korea – Osan Air Base is investigating whether a reported phone call to the base high school Monday morning that triggered an installation-wide lockdown and search for a possible gunman was a hoax or a misunderstanding.
“We’re still looking into the origin,” 51st Fighter Wing spokesman 1st Lt. Brandon Baccam said late Monday afternoon.
A teacher received an automated phone call around 10 a.m. that said an active shooter drill was taking place. The school immediately went into a lockdown after verifying that no such drill was taking place, and the lockdown soon was extended to the entire base, according to the wing’s public affairs office.
No unusual activity was found, and the lockdown was lifted around 12:30 p.m. following a security forces sweep of Osan schools.
At 11:58 a.m., a post attributed to Osan American High School Principal Morgan Nugent said that after the teacher received the call, “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,” the post said.
Nugent said Monday afternoon that school officials had already talked to students about the day’s events.
“Everybody is back in the regular routine and we’re looking for to hopefully having a lot calmer rest of December,” he said.
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 English and Korean: “Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown. Seek safety and shelter.”
The 51st Security Forces Squadron practiced responding to a live shooting situation in mid-November, using Osan Middle School as the setting for a mock shooting. Responders practiced clearing the building and used rubber bullets to prevent injuries, according to the wing’s website.
Stars and Stripes staffer Armando Limon contributed to this story.