U.S. Air Force security personnel exchanged gunfire with a gunman at the main gate of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland early Saturday, a base spokesman said.
According to a statement from the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), an unknown suspect first opened fire on an Air Force security guard working at the entrance gate to Lackland Air Force Base at 2:30 a.m. The guard reported the incident and the base increased security.
Later, shortly before 5:00 p.m., a sedan pulled up near the same entrance and opened fire on the Air Force personnel, resulting in a gunfight between them and the gunman.
“The trooper stated he heard several gunshots and bullets going by,” SAPD spokesman Washington Moscoso said. “Following this incident, the trooper increased armed guards as a precaution. Just before 5 a.m. that morning, a sedan pulled up east on Central Base Road at the same entrance gate to Lackland Air Force Base/Chapman Training Wing.”
“A second round of shots was fired at the air force security personnel, but as additional security personnel were also present, multiple air force personnel returned fire at the suspect vehicle,” Moscoso added.
According to Associated PressAt about 4:30 a.m., security guards returned fire at a car passing by the entrance, but no injuries were reported.
The number of shots fired, the number of shooters and a motive are still unknown.
“We don’t know what, if anything, triggered it,” Antosh told The Associated Press, “but it was not an actual threat to the facility, and there is no actual threat to the facility.”
The entrance gate was closed from 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., but the base was not sealed off.
The Hill has reached out to Joint Base Lackland for comment.
In addition to Lackland, Joint Base San Antonio also includes Randolph Air Force Base, Fort Sam Houston, and Camp Bliss training camp.
Lackland is home to more than 24,000 active-duty military personnel and 10,000 Department of Defense civilians, according to the base’s website.
Military bases in Texas I’ve seen shootings before.In the 2009 Fort Hood massacre, a US Army major opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding 30.
In 2020, a gunman attempted to speed through a security gate at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, wounding a soldier, and was later shot and killed by a security guard.
In 2016, an Air Force soldier shot and killed his commanding officer at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland before being shot himself.
