An Indiana man, identified as Jackson Fleming, age 23, is currently in custody following an arrest for threatening the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, an incident that caused an intense lockdown last week. As FOX Baltimore reported, Fleming was nabbed on suspicions related to a threat made via social media last Thursday, which was designed to appear as if it originated from within the Naval Academy grounds.
The lockdown saw a midshipman injured by a gunshot wound to the shoulder, the strain of the moment erupted when he mistook a security force officer as a possible assailant amid the chaos ensuing from the falsely reported active shooter situation, and while the midshipman's wounds were treated, the officer also sustained minor injuries, both were later released from the hospital, according to a statement by the Naval Academy; a statement obtained by FOX Baltimore detailed that this troubling event did not involve an active shooter, and normal operations have since resumed at the academy, though public access remained restricted.
In a release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana and reported by WBALTV, the prosecutors in the case have charged Fleming with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate communication, an offense which could entail a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if a conviction is achieved.
Fleming's arrest, which occurred last Friday, is a part of a wider investigation into the incident at the Naval Academy, and this probe has seen the joint effort of the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, complemented by local law enforcement like the Porter County Sheriff's Office.
