At approximately 10 p.m. on Friday, September 29th, individuals present on the Air Force Academy sat paralyzed in fear as they heard an ominous message from the loudspeaker. In a rusty, almost automated voice, it proclaimed that the entire base was on lockdown.

No one was allowed in or out.

This lockdown was initiated due to reports of an active shooter near the preparatory school. At 10:23 p.m. the USAFA twitter account tweeted,

“We received reports of active shooter on Academy grounds. There are no confirmation of shots fired. Security forces are sweeping the area.”

After this announcement, people were left on edge and scrounging for more information. Rumors exploded. One Twitter user tweeted,

“Update: the active shooter is in my dorm. Keep the prayers coming y’all.”

This tweet received several comments containing even more false rumors such as,

“They said they might be knocking on doors,” and “There may be 2-3 active shooters.”

While these false statements continued to circulate, members of our own student body and staff were trapped on base, confused and scared. Junior Jacob Silva was working his shift at the Wing Zone on the Academy when the lockdown was announced. Away from his family, he was forced to hide in a storage closet until around 1:45 a.m. He was told by cadets that the shooters,

“…were in our building, likely about to come to us.”

He revealed that he thought he was going to die. He had already texted his mom and two best friends, warning them about the situation and telling them that he loved them.

Meanwhile, at AAHS the football team had just finished playing a game and the 7 coaches were in the middle of a meeting in the football office. The door was propped open, letting sound from outside infiltrate the room. Coach Grinde recalled his account of the announcement made about the issue: “Suddenly from the loudspeaker we hear, ‘This is the USAFA command center, the air force base is on lockdown.’”

Upon hearing this, he ended the meeting in hopes that they would all get out before the gate was closed. Two of the coaches did; however, he was not as lucky.

“By the time the rest of us got there (south gate), we were in line. I was there from 10:30 (p.m.) to 1:45 (a.m.). They wouldn’t let me turn around. I didn’t know anything, but it was unbelievable,” he said.

All he had heard about the matter came from vague snippets of gossip and texts from two different player’s dads saying,

“We have three active shooters,” and, “The shooter shot himself.”

Grinde stayed remarkably calm amidst the calamity overtaking the base during this ordeal, even as he watched 40-50 police and SWAT team members fly through the South gate.

“It was kind of relaxing just to hang there. There was a football game on. I listened to USC and Washington State on the radio for awhile,” he said.

Eventually, the SWAT team and police concluded that there were, in fact, no active shooters or shots fired. According to The Denver Post, this whole incident was sparked when someone mistook a Nerf gun battle for a real one. The base was taken off of lockdown and everybody was allowed to return home. Though it is a relief that no one was harmed, people are left wondering how the situation took an unsettling turn.