U.S. Air Force security guards returned fire early Saturday after a car-hungry gunman attacked the entrance to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland twice within the space of a few hours, authorities said.
Police said the mysterious assailant fired several shots at about 2:15 a.m., then returned to the scene two hours later and fled after a brief gunfight.
“The incident occurred outside the base when a passing vehicle fired shots at the gate and security forces responded,” base spokeswoman Stephanie Antosh said in a statement.
No one was injured and there is no further threat to the base, she said.
San Antonio police are still investigating a motive, but the suspect is not believed to have ties to the military.
According to Sergeant Washington Moscoso, a shootout broke out around 2:15 a.m., and “guards stated they heard several gunshots and bullets whizzing past them.”
“Following this incident, security has increased the number of armed guards as a precautionary measure.”
Two hours later, a sedan pulled up near the same entrance and shots were fired again.
“However, because additional security personnel were present, multiple Air Force personnel opened fire on the suspect vehicle,” Moscoso said.
The vehicle then fled the scene. It was not immediately clear how many shots were fired in the two shootouts.
The shooting caused the entrance to be closed for several hours before reopening around 9:30 a.m., but Antosh said the base was never put on lockdown.
Lackland is home to more than 24,000 active duty military personnel, 10,000 Department of Defense civilians, and 11,000 contractors and their families. Base Website.
Lackland includes the 37th Training Wing, 149th Fighter Wing, 59th Medical Wing, Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, 24th Air Force Wing, 67th Networked Fighter Wing, Cryptographic Systems Group, the National Security Agency and 70 associated units.
In addition to Lackland, Joint Base San Antonio includes Randolph Air Force Base, the Army’s Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bliss training camp.
With post wire
