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A civilian employee of the U.S. Department of the Navy, Malika Brittingham, was charged on Tuesday (September 30) with falsely reporting an active shooter at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. According to federal prosecutors, Brittingham allegedly fabricated the incident to "trauma bond" with her colleagues.
The incident began when Brittingham texted someone around 10:15 a.m., claiming that she heard gunshots and was hiding in a closet with co-workers. The recipient of the text then called the base’s operation center and 911, leading to a lockdown of the base shortly before 11 a.m. The lockdown lasted about an hour before officials determined there was no shooter.
Brittingham, who works for the Naval Air Warfare Center, was taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon. The criminal complaint states that she felt ostracized by her colleagues and hoped the shared experience of an active shooter situation would bring them closer together.
Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, expressed strong disapproval of the hoax, stating on social media, "This kind of senseless fear-mongering and disruption will not be tolerated in my state." The base, which spans 42,000 acres and hosts more than 42,000 service members and civilian employees, returned to normal operations after the false alarm.