Saturday, March 06, 2010

Las Vegas Air Force Base Placed on Lockdown

Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas was placed on lockdown Friday with nearby streets closed, according to local reports.

Base spokesman Eugene Hill said the main gate was closed and the base was put on lockdown about 3 p.m., according to the Las Vegas Sun.

It remains unclear what has caused the lockdown.

Metro Police spokesman Bill Cassell said officers are assisting with traffic control in the area.

Nellis is the location of the United States Air Force Warfare Center and is a major training location for both U.S. and foreign military aircrews.



MORE:

Air Force base in Nev. shuts entrance after threat

LAS VEGAS—Military officials say the main entrance of an Air Force base outside Las Vegas was shut down after a man made a verbal threat to a guard at the gate.

Nellis Air Force Base spokesman Chuck Ramey said the entrance was closed more than three hours on Friday and federal agents arrested the man, who was a civilian.

Ramey said the threat was made at about 3 p.m. and was believed to be an isolated incident. He said operations at the base—including other entrances—were not affected.

Ramey declined to identify or describe the man, but said he was alone.

Las Vegas police were called to re-route traffic in the area. Officials expected the main entrance to reopen Friday night.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NELLIS AIR BASE, Nev. (AP)—Military officials say the main entrance of an Air Force base outside Las Vegas was shut down after a man made a verbal threat to a guard at the gate.

Nellis Air Force Base spokesman Chuck Ramey said the entrance was closed more than three hours on Friday and federal agents arrested the man, who was a civilian.

Ramey said the threat was made at about 3 p.m. and was believed to be an isolated incident. He said operations at the base—including other entrances—were not affected.

Ramey declined to identify or describe the man, but said he was alone.

Las Vegas police were called


MORE:

This is the third incident affecting military installations recently:

Charges filed in Luke AFB shooting Mar. 3

Authorities wait for toxicology results in arsenal Gate 9 crash at Redstone Arsenal Mar. 1


MORE:
KTNV News Report video describes the man as "elderly" who claimed it was "a joke".

Just. A. Joke.

Now where did I hear that before?

Maybe this, this or even this. Forgive my lack of humor.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isn't Nellis adjacent to Area 51?

This is the third incident affecting military installations recently:

Charges filed in Luke AFB shooting Mar. 3


Authorities wait for toxicology results in arsenal Gate 9 crash at Redstone Arsenal Mar. 1

Anonymous said...

Phew . . .it was only a "man" involved in a "routine". . ."minor incident", and there is "no ongoing threat to the public."

@#&%!!!! Exactly when did bomb threats become routine and considered MINOR threats at military installations? NAME THE SUSPECT!!


Man Held After Bomb Threat at Nellis Air Force Base

The main gate at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas was locked down on Friday afternoon after a man made a bomb threat, according to local reports.

Metro Police said the man had been taken into custody without incident and is now in the hands of federal officials, www.ktnv.com said.

The main gate remains closed while the investigation continues.

A spokesman at Nellis told Fox News the gate was closed because of what he described as a minor incident, although he did not have details.

He called the situation "routine" and said there was "no ongoing threat to the public."

The base's other gates remain open.

Traffic around the area was diverted after the incident at around 3 p.m.

Nellis is the location of the United States Air Force Warfare Center and is a major training location for both U.S. and foreign military aircrews.


*****

P.S. Add a fourth item to the list of recent terror attempts on military installations. Recall the food poisoning threat at Fort Jackson, SC.

Anonymous said...

KTNV News Report video describes the man as "elderly" who claimed it was "a joke".

Just. A. Joke.

Now where did I hear that before?

Maybe this, this or even this. Forgive my lack of humor.

Anonymous said...

The following article was posted online just about an hour ago:

Millions of Dollars Allotted To Solar Panel Inefficiency | Million ...
56 minutes ago by admin
President Barack Obama, speaking at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada – the site of the nation's largest solar array with more than 72000 panels mounted on single-axis trackers on 140 acres delivering 30 million kilowatt hours of ...
Million Dollar Area - http://www.milliondollararea.com/


Was he there when the threat took place?