NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD — Norfolk Naval Shipyard went into lockdown for about 20 minutes Thursday after a firearm was found on the shipyard and, in a separate incident, a shipyard employee made threats against their coworkers, according to shipyard leaders.
Around 8:30 a.m., a firearm was found inside a private contractor's vehicle in the shipyard's industrial area, according to shipyard officials. After employees reported the weapon to base police, officers secured the weapon and detained the contractor, officials say.
Around the same time, officials say an employee made a threat against the shipyard and coworkers.
Shipyard leaders say the two unrelated security incidents led to a false report of an active threat, and a lockdown was initiated just before noon.
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Law enforcement responded and determined the active threat to be false. The lockdown was lifted around 12:15 p.m., officials say.
The area is secure and there were no injuries in connection to either incident, shipyard leaders say.
Officials say they secured the weapon found inside the contractor's vehicle and the contractor was detained. They're investigating how the weapon was brought on base.
The shipyard employee who reportedly made threats is no longer present at the shipyard and their installation access has been taken away, officials added.
