Local, state and federal law enforcement including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to reports of an active shooter at Wright-Patterson Medical Base two weeks ago.
» RELATED: Wright-Patt: No active shooter found; what we know
“We had a great response…Now we have some work to do to coordinate efforts with the feds and the base personnel,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer. “We’re going to go line by line on what was good and what we need to improve.”
The incident, both Plummer and Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer said, should be looked at as a learning experience. Local law enforcement doesn’t interact that much with “the feds,” Plummer said, so the Aug. 2 incident brought to light issues of how to get law enforcement on base during a crisis and how to best communicate.
“This was not necessarily a bad event,” Fischer said. “Everything that happened at the base hospital on August 2 ended up being no problems but it gave us an opportunity to see how we respond.”
Law enforcement, along with U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, were briefed on the alarm by Col. Tom Sherman, 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The briefing came after Turner requested one in a letter to Sherman on Aug. 3, a day after the active shooter scare.
Following Wednesday’s briefing, Turner said the community was “very fortunate to be able to evade a tragedy” during the incident. Like local law enforcement leaders, Turner said the incident will be able to improve security and responses to such scares.
“Truly, this does appear to be a vulnerability for all DOD wide bases and how they communicate and work with local enforcement and first responders,” Turner said.
» RELATED: Wright-Patt hospital: What we know about the base medical center
Someone from inside Wright-Patterson Medical Center called 911 around 12:40 p.m. Aug. 2.
It’s unclear what the 911 caller reported but the call went to the base’s operation center and prompted Wright-Patt’s security forces and fire department to respond. In response to the call, Wright-Patt security forces began a systematic sweep and clear of the entire hospital facility, Sherman said during a press conference.
During the sweep, a member of the base’s security team fired a weapon in an attempt to breach a locked door.
The board will not look into the fact that shots were fired. That investigation is being conducted by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
On Tuesday, base spokeswoman Marie Vanover said a “defender” received a laceration during the incident and returned to work the next day.
“I can confirm that one of our defenders was injured during the incident; however since the investigation is on-going, I cannot comment on any specifics,” Vanover said.
FIVE FAST READS
• New furniture store to open location at two Dayton-area malls
• Wright State president not given raise, bonus due to budget issues
• Good Samaritan Hospital officially closes down for good
• State suing Dayton company for ‘shoddy work
• Algae plaguing Ohio lakes could force Kasich to take executive action
THANKS FOR READING
The Dayton Daily News is committed to bringing you independent, in-depth local stories. Help support our journalism by signing up for a print or digital subscription.
About the Author