Injured jogger sparked ‘active shooter’ reaction at Air Force base: report

An injured jogger who called a hospital employee crying in pain was the root cause of a series of miscommunications that led to an active shooter response at an Ohio Air Force base earlier this year, officials said Wednesday.

The Associated Press reported that a review of the Aug. 2 incident at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base determined that a jogger who twisted their ankle called a hospital employee on the base screaming in pain, and was later brought into the ER. The jogger’s need for assistance coincided with a mass casualty response exercise taking place at the hospital.

{mosads}Hospital staff went on to issue a “Code Silver” for an active shooter and hospital lockdown, spurring further confusion, according to the Air Force report, which was obtained by the AP.

“A breakdown of communication led to a completely uncoordinated and ineffective combined response that could have resulted in serious injury or property damage,” the Air Force report said.

The report called for local, state and federal authorities to establish a “thorough understanding” of jurisdiction and response procedures in similar situations.

Roughly 27,000 military and civilian personnel are located on the Dayton, Ohio, air base.

Wednesday’s report provided the most extensive explanation of what took place in August, though base officials had previously acknowledged that the event was a false alarm.