**Federal Employee Detained Following Active Shooter Hoax at New Jersey Military Base**
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A federal government employee was taken into custody Tuesday after an active shooter hoax triggered a lockdown at New Jersey’s largest military base, according to the state’s acting U.S. Attorney, Alina Habba.
In a social media post Tuesday night, Habba announced that the unnamed civilian employee was in custody for conveying false information regarding an active shooter at Joint Base McGuire. This sprawling base, one of the nation’s largest military installations, was placed under lockdown Tuesday morning amid the reported threat.
A statement on the base’s Facebook page urged all personnel to shelter in place, though it did not specify the nature of the threat. The lockdown was lifted just before noon, less than an hour after it had been announced.
Habba’s statement did not provide further details about the employee’s alleged actions but described the individual, in an all-caps statement, as a suspect in “today’s active shooter hoax.” An emailed inquiry to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey was not immediately returned.
“This kind of senseless fear-mongering and disruption will not be tolerated in my state,” Habba said. “After everything this country has gone through, especially in light of current events, I will be sure to bring down the hammer of the law for anyone found guilty of creating unnecessary panic and undermining public trust.”
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is one of the nation’s largest military installations, spanning 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) and combining Air Force, Army, and Navy functions. The base counts over 42,000 service members, relatives, and civilian employees. It is located about 18 miles (29 kilometers) south of Trenton, the state capital, and approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Philadelphia.
The incident unfolded as U.S. military leaders gathered at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had summoned them from around the world to declare an end to “woke culture” in the armed forces.
The hoax comes amid heightened concern following recent violence at military installations in recent years. Last month, an Army sergeant was charged with shooting five fellow soldiers at a base in Georgia. Other incidents have ranged from individual disputes between service members to assaults on bases, including mass-casualty attacks such as the 2009 shooting by an Army psychiatrist that killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas.
https://ktar.com/national-news/federal-employee-taken-into-custody-following-active-shooter-hoax-at-njs-largest-military-base/5756557/
