JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – A civilian armed with a rifle was shot and critically wounded after trying to enter Little Rock Air Force Base on Monday, though it wasn’t immediately clear why the man was trying to enter the sprawling base, military officials and police said.
Col. Charles Brown Jr., the commander of the base, said an SUV jumped a curb and knocked over a street sign near the base’s front gate before the driver got out with a rifle. Brown said guards began firing after seeing the man was armed.
Brown said at a news conference Monday afternoon that he didn’t know whether the man fired his weapon at the scene, or if the man said anything to the guards.
The base issued a statement earlier Monday saying the man was hospitalized in critical condition, and that an injured bystander also was taken to the hospital. No details were released about either person.
The base went on lockdown after the 9:15 a.m. shooting, and heavily armed security personnel sealed off access to the base, which is about 15 miles northeast of Little Rock. The main gate and a smaller entrance were open by early Monday afternoon at the base, home to a major C-130 training facility.