A technical glitch aboard the Naval Observatory, the compound that hosts the residence of the vice president, caused alarm Wednesday morning, reports the Washington Post.
“Attention. Attention. A severe accident has been reported on the installation,” the loudspeaker known among Navy officials as the “Giant Voice” blared.
It was a false alarm – everything was fine aboard the Naval Observatory.
The alarm sounded just as an active shooter drill on the other side of Washington at the Navy Yard was coming to an end, according to the Post.
The planned drill was a training exercise in how to react in an active shooter situation, and had been announced on social media to prevent panic.
A gunman fatally shot 12 people and injured 3 others at the Navy Yard in 2012, before being killed by police.
“When we were concluding the exercise [at the Navy Yard], our giant voice was saying ‘All clear. All clear,’” Chatney Auger, a spokeswoman for the Navy District Washington office told the Washington Post. “That affected the Naval Observatory.”
The cause for the glitch is unknown, according to officials, and they are investigating the problem further.
Technical glitch aboard Naval Observatory causes scare as active shooter drill winds down
