Shots fired at US air base in England after car slams into gate
Local police say none injured expert for driver in 'disturbance' that led to lockdown at RAF Middenhall; suspect arrested
LONDON — Police arrested a man at a US air base in Britain on Monday after a car drove into a checkpoint gate, prompting American military personnel to open fire, officials said.
Suffolk Police, in eastern England, said the incident at RAF Mildenhall — home to the US Air Force’s 100th air refueling wing — was “ongoing,” but that there was “no wider threat to the public or occupants on the base.”
Mildenhall, around 70 miles (110 kilometers) north-east of London, was briefly locked down over the incident before reopening at 2:35 p.m. local time, a spokesman for the base confirmed.
Local police said they received reports of a “disturbance,” adding: “The base was put into lockdown and units responded immediately.
“Shots were fired by American service personnel and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody.
“No other people have been injured as a result of the incident.”
Suffolk Police said area schools would continue to operate as normal.
A government source said the incident was sparked by a car trying to force its way through a checkpoint at the base.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “We are aware of an incident at the entry point of RAF Mildenhall.”
Mildenhall said on its website: “RAF Mildenhall locked down at 1:00 p.m. today, following reports of a disturbance on base.”
The precise nature of the incident remained unclear mid-afternoon Monday.
The base was at the center of a foiled terrorism plot in 2015.
A British man who plotted an Islamic State-inspired attack on American military personnel based there was jailed for life last year.
Junead Khan, who was a committed supporter of the IS group, used his job as a delivery driver for a pharmaceutical firm as cover to scout several US Air Force bases in eastern England between May and July 2015, including Mildenhall.