WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Employees and bystanders at the US Navy Yard in Washington, DC feared another terror attack shortly before the Independence Day celebrations on July 4, witnesses told Sputnik on Thursday.
“I did not hear anything… I got here and they told me I couldn’t get in… This is scary, because the shooter could be around us,” a US Navy employee who was kept outside the building told Sputnik.
“This crowd is large enough for an attack itself,” she added speaking about the scores of journalists and cameramen present at the incident.
An Islamic State spokesman called for terror attacks during the Moslem holy month of Ramadan which ends on July 17, and US security authorities are taking the threat seriously.
Thursday’s incident began at 7:29 a.m. (12:29 p.m. GMT) and the yard was placed on lockdown for more than two hours until authorities confirmed a false alarm.
The owner of a grocery store nearby said the alert was frightening while it lasted.
“We did not hear any shooting… It is scary… We will just wait to see what they say,” he told Sputnik.
Law enforcement appeared in massive force at the Navy Yard and conducted an investigation into the matter, but found no evidence of guns, shooting, gunmen or victims.
US Navy spokesperson Chris Johnson told Sputnik that employees in building 197, where the 2013 massacre took place, were evacuated to the Navy Conference Center.
The facility remained on lockdown while police looked for a potential shooter, Johnson said.
The city’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also told Sputnik they did not find any evidence of victims or injuries at the Navy Yard.
