Lakehurst Naval Air Station Lockdown; Armed Delivery Man, Gunfire Reports Raised Alarm, Now Over

LAKEHURST, N.J. (CBS/WCBS/AP) Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey was under lockdown Monday morning in response to two separate incidents - a report of gunfire, and a delivery driver being detained for carrying a firearm.

Base security forces called for the lockdown at the 42,000 acre facility around 9:30 a.m. after two "simultaneous" events occurred at two base entrances, says spokeswoman Angel Lopez.

At one of the entrances, someone reported hearing gunfire. Meanwhile, a delivery man was being questioned at the main gate, a non-commercial gate, for attempting to enter the base with his delivery. The circumstances seemed unusual to base officials because most drivers who regularly make deliveries know to go to the commercial gate.

The driver also admitted to guards that he was carrying a 9 mm handgun. He was taken into custody and released after being cited for attempting to bring a handgun onto the base, reports CBS affiliate WCBS.

Further investigation into the report that someone had fired shots at the commercial gate turned up nothing. After two hours of heightened security, everything was back to normal around 11 a.m., but during the nearly two hour lockdown no vehicles could get in or out of the naval station and people on base had to stay in their buildings, said Lopez.

The base is a tri-service military installation, combining Fort Dix, the McGuire Air Force Base, and the NAVAIR base, formerly known as the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst. It currently employs about 3,500 people worldwide and is located about 75 miles south of New York City, reports WCBS.