No bomb found after threat at Naval Base Kitsap
Feb 22, 2018, 11:06 AM | Updated: Feb 23, 2018, 8:00 am
(KIRO 7)
No bomb was ever found at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.
The base went into lockdown Thursday when a man drove up to the Trident Gate and claimed to have an IED on his body and more explosives in his vehicle.
The Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management ordered people to shelter in place.
KIRO 7 reports that a lockdown was lifted just after 2:30 p.m. The Trident Gate was closed for hours.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Scott Wilson with Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said people in the “quarantine area” — a 3,200-foot perimeter around the Trident Gate — were still advised to stay in their homes while the bomb squad investigated the car at the gate. That order was lifted shortly after 6 p.m.
According to a statement from Naval Base Kitsap:
This morning at 9 a.m., a black sport-utility vehicle entered the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor Trident vehicle inspection gate. A male driver claimed to have an Improvised Explosive Device on his body and in his vehicle. Security and personnel safety procedures were immediately taken. The driver was apprehended and is in Kitsap County Sheriff custody.
Naval base bomb threat
Highway 308 leading into the base was closed. The alleged threat initially closed all gates at Kitsap Naval Base-Bangor and Keyport.
Kitsap County deputies assisted the military with security.
“Due to the vicinity of the incident to local area residences, the sheriff’s office is advising residents inside of an established boundary area to either remain inside their homes (shelter in place) or to evacuate and not return until further information is disseminated.”
According to troopers, the suspect may have tried to enter the Bangor base illegally. A bomb squad was called in as a precaution and the suspect’s vehicle was searched.
A spokesperson for the base told reporters the “situation is under control” and the suspect was detained and is “being interrogated.”