Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.
~4,500 studentsNSA Annapolis Mass Notification / USNA Public Affairs
Confirmed Timeline
Alert Sequence
5 messages in sequence
Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.
INITIAL ALERTPA System
Approximate reconstruction·152 chars
Attention all hands. Active threat on the Yard. Shelter in place. This is not a drill. Active threat on the Yard. Shelter in place. This is not a drill.
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
Reporting describes the public-address announcement as repeating the phrases 'active threat' and 'shelter in place' simultaneously across multiple loudspeakers across the Yard
5:07 p.m. EDT is the time officially logged by Naval Support Activity Annapolis as the start of the lockdown
The announcement instructed shelter in place, not evacuation — a deliberate choice driven by the report of an internal threat inside Bancroft Hall, the dormitory housing the entire 4,500-midshipman Brigade
UPDATETwitter/X+23 min
Approximate reconstruction·189 chars
The U.S. Naval Academy and NSA Annapolis are currently on lockdown due to reports of a security concern. All personnel are directed to shelter in place. Avoid the area. Updates will follow.
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
USNA's first public confirmation of the lockdown came through social media within roughly 20-30 minutes of the loudspeaker announcement
The language 'security concern' rather than 'active shooter' reflects the Navy's deliberate caution before confirming whether the threat was credible
NSA Annapolis (Naval Support Activity Annapolis) is the operational installation that issues mass-notification messages for the Academy
UPDATETwitter/X+4h 33m
Approximate reconstruction·273 chars
There is no active shooter threat at the U.S. Naval Academy. Law enforcement continues to investigate. One person was transported by helicopter with injuries and is in stable condition. The Academy remains in lockdown while we complete sweeps. Continue to shelter in place.
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
The 9:40 p.m. statement was the first official confirmation that the active-shooter report was false
By this point the midshipman had already been shot and medevaced; the statement did not initially disclose that the injury was a law-enforcement shooting
The Academy maintained shelter-in-place orders for another 2-plus hours while sweeps of Bancroft Hall continued
ALL CLEARTwitter/X
Approximate reconstruction·248 chars
The lockdown at the U.S. Naval Academy has been lifted. Law enforcement has cleared the installation and there is no ongoing threat. Normal operations will resume. We thank the Annapolis community and our law enforcement partners for their support.
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
The lockdown lasted approximately 7 hours from 5:07 p.m. to just after midnight
BayNet and Fox Baltimore both reported the lockdown was 'lifted' rather than calling a formal 'all clear', but functionally this was the end-of-incident message
An FBI investigation was already underway by the time the lockdown lifted
FOLLOW-UPEmail+16h 53m
Approximate reconstruction·555 chars
Yesterday's lockdown was triggered by a false report of an active shooter posted to an anonymous social media platform. We want to clarify that there was no active shooter at the Naval Academy. During the response, a midshipman in Bancroft Hall mistook law enforcement officers as a threat and was injured. The midshipman is in stable condition. A naval security officer was also injured and treated. We are reviewing our procedures and the role of misinformation in this incident. Counseling resources are available to all midshipmen, faculty, and staff.
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
The phrase 'We want to clarify that there was no active shooter' is directly quoted from the Friday Academy spokesperson statement
The follow-up explicitly named misinformation as a factor — language echoed by the Commandant calling it 'the biggest threat today'
Counseling resources are a standard post-incident inclusion at military installations following lockdowns
01A single anonymous Yodel post produced a 7-hour lockdown of the entire 4,500-midshipman Brigade and an officer-involved shooting of a midshipman
02The midshipman who was shot had been sheltering in place per the Academy's instructions when he struck a responding officer with a parade rifle, mistaking him for the gunman
03The Academy's first public statement used the phrase 'security concern' rather than 'active shooter' — deliberately cautious until the threat was characterized
04The Navy confirmed no active-shooter threat at 9:40 p.m. but kept shelter-in-place orders in effect for another 2+ hours while sweeps continued
05Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD) publicly called for a review of lockdown procedures, noting that 'we're living in a time when bomb threats to campuses are an almost everyday occurrence'
06Former midshipman Justin Fleming was arrested 5 days later in Indiana and charged federally — a rare resolution for an anonymous campus threat
Outcome
No active shooter existed. The threat came from a Yodel post made by 23-year-old Jackson Elliot 'Justin' Fleming of Chesterton, Indiana — a former midshipman dismissed from the Academy who was confirmed in another state at the time of the post. He was arrested on September 16, 2025 and charged federally with making an interstate threat. During the sweep, a midshipman sheltering in his room mistook responding officers for the threat and struck one with a parade rifle; the midshipman was shot in the shoulder, evacuated by helicopter, treated, and released. The naval security officer suffered minor injuries.