U.S. Naval Academy Placed Under Lockdown Amid Threats, Authorities Say

U.S.|U.S. Naval Academy Placed Under Lockdown Amid Threats, Authorities Say

The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., was placed under lockdown on Thursday after receiving threats, a spokesman said.

Local law enforcement officers were responding to the campus, said Lt. Naweed Lemar, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy.

The Annapolis Police Department declined to comment.

A nearby military base, Naval Support Activity Annapolis, which provides security and other support for the academy, was also responding, Lieutenant Lemar said. He did not describe the threats.

Calls to the school’s public affairs office went unanswered on Thursday evening.

The Naval Academy, located on the banks of the Severn River, is a four-year college that prepares students, called midshipmen, to be commissioned as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps.

According to the school’s website, about 4,400 midshipmen are enrolled there.

Emails from 5:32 p.m. shared with The New York Times show that an academy midshipman who was standing watch warned students to “get inside and lock your door right now. Not a drill. Get inside and lock your door.”

Midshipmen in the seventh wing of Bancroft Hall, the school’s dormitory, were ordered to evacuate 12 minutes later, the emails show.

At 5:52 p.m., Capt. David S. Forman, the school’s deputy commandant, said in an email to midshipmen that there were no confirmed reports of gunfire and cautioned against making any unconfirmed reports.

Captain Forman noted that there was a large contingent of armed police officers on the campus.

At 6:07 p.m., Midshipman First Class Kellen Bynes, the school’s brigade commander, posted, “do not fight with police. Follow their direction.”

This is a developing story.