MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, was briefly put on lockdown Friday morning after a report of an armed suspect outside the base.
Base officials were assisting local law enforcement in searching for the suspect, Lt. Brandon Hanner, a spokesman for MacDill said. All MacDill gates to the base were reopened except for the one closest to the location where the suspect was seen.
MacDill first responders were on the scene and isolated the response to an area outside one of the base’s gates, a news release from the base said.
Traffic was at a standstill on numerous roads around the base, which is near downtown Tampa, news outlets reported. MacDill is the headquarters for U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.
MacDill is the home of the 6th Air Refueling Wing. There are more than 15,000 military personnel at the base. A large number of military personnel and their families live on the base in military housing.
Friday’s lockdown came a month after 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old Saudi Air Force officer, killed three U.S. sailors and injured eight other people Dec. 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
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