A False Report of a Shooter Prompts Gunfire and Injuries at the U.S. Naval Academy

A False Report of a Shooter Prompts Gunfire and Injuries at the U.S. Naval Academy

A midshipman and a law enforcement officer were injured in an altercation after misinformation spread at the campus in Annapolis, Md., at a moment of heightened tension nationwide.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/us/naval-academy-annapolis.html

By John IsmayGreg Jaffe and Rylee Kirk
Published Sept. 11, 2025Updated Sept. 12, 2025, 7:20 a.m. ET



-snip-

The threat was traced to a laptop belonging to a midshipman who had left the academy and was confirmed to be in his parents’ house in the Midwest, officials said. No active shooter was believed to have been present on the campus.

-snip-

The report at the Naval Academy provoked a flood of misinformation on social media and led to an altercation between a law enforcement officer and a midshipman, injuring both.

Amid the initial chaos and confusion on campus, the midshipman mistook a law enforcement officer for the shooter and struck him in the head with a parade rifle. The law enforcement officer then fired at the midshipman, wounding him in the arm, the officials said.

-snip-

Hours before the Naval Academy went into lockdown, there was an apparently false report of an active shooter at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Around 5 p.m. Thursday, the police confirmed there was no ongoing threat on campus.

-snip-


JoAnna Daemmrich contributed reporting.

John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy.

Greg Jaffe covers the Pentagon and the U.S. military.

Rylee Kirk reports on breaking news, trending topics and major developing stories for The Times.