Lockdown at Naval Academy over Bancroft threats, investigation ongoing

The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis was placed on lockdown Thursday evening after reports of threats and conflicting accounts of a shooting inside Bancroft Hall, the academy's main dormitory, officials said. Naval Support Activity Annapolis and local law enforcement responded to the reports, ordered students and staff to shelter in place, and urged the public to avoid the area while investigators worked to determine the nature and credibility of the threat.

Naval Support Activity Annapolis spokesman Lt. Naweed Lemar said the base was locked down out of an abundance of caution and that authorities would provide updates as they became available. Officials confirmed that law enforcement units were sweeping campus housing and coordinating emergency medical response as needed.

Early reports from multiple eyewitnesses and media accounts described gunfire inside Bancroft Hall and at least one person being airlifted from the campus. Video widely shared by observers showed what appeared to be a gurney being loaded onto a helicopter on academy grounds. Some initial accounts said a dismissed or expelled former midshipman returned to campus armed, moved through dorm corridors and opened...