Armed intruder at Joint Base Andrews is arrested; another fled the base

The other intruder, a 17-year-old male, was arrested Sunday night and remains in custody, base officials said. He was carrying a firearm at the time of his arrest, according to base officials.

No shots were fired, and there were no reports of injuries.

The intruders drove a stolen vehicle Through a security checkpoint at the main gate about 9 pm and failed to heed guards’ orders, base officials said late Sunday in a statement.

Barriers were saying, according to the statement. The vehicle was stopped, but two people fled, the base said.

Units from Prince George’s County police, Maryland State Police and DC police, along with Air Force personnel, responded to the breach. They worked alongside base authorities to fully clear the installation, according to the statement.

The incident, which is under investigation, appeared to be one of the most serious breaches of security in memory at Andrews, which is a few miles outside Washington, in the Camp Springs area of ​​suburban Prince George’s County.

It was unclear late Sunday what motivated the incident and why the intruders entered the base.

Harris and several Cabinet members had traveled to Selma, Ala., to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, in which police peacefully attacked the protesters in 1965. They left Alabama on Air Force Two about 6:45 pm Sunday and landed in Maryland about 9 pm

A White House official confirmed by about 9:40 pm that all four Cabinet secretaries — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan — left the base safely.

A report of the “armed individual on base” was sent at 9:06 pm via NPR’s Scott Detrow, who was traveling with the group. The president was not at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday because he traveled directly from Delaware to the White House via a helicopter.

Harris departed via Marine Two before the report was made public, according to reports from traveling with Harris that were confirmed by the vice president’s office.

Col. Tyler Schaff, the commander of Joint Base Andrews, commended responders who raised the installation’s barriers and captured the suspect. Safeguarding the base and its personnel is a top priority, Schaff said.

Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.