Fort Meade: Exercise ongoing, reports of shooting false

FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Officials say media calls to Fort Meade on Thursday were mistaken for callers portraying members of the media during an exercise, setting off false reports of a mass shooting at the base in Maryland. Public Affairs Officer Chad Jones says the installation was conducting an exercise on Thursday, when outlets reported an active shooter incident there, but fortunately there was no shooting. He called it a “unfortunate miscommunication” and apologized. Community Relations Chief Sherry Kuiper says a call went through Fort Meade’s Emergency Operations Center, where the exercise was conducted, and the request was thought to be part of the exercise. It’s not clear what prompted media outlets to call in the first place.