All-Clear Given at Hanford Site After Report Of Active Shooter

The “all-clear” has been given at the Hanford Site after reports of an active shooter Tuesday morning caused employee evacuations and building lockdowns.

A security alert was sent out to employees shortly before 10:30 a.m. that said “active assailant at 2750-E in the 200 east area. Affected employees prepare to run-hide-fight. Employees in nearby buildings are to lockdown and prepare to run-hide-fight. All others stay away”.

People in the office building were evacuated and other buildings went on lockdown as multiple agencies responded.

But, around 1:30 p.m. the ‘all-clear’ was given after authorities said they searched the building and found no evidence of a shooting or anyone injured. Employees who called in the ‘shots fired’ are being interviewed. Authorities believe they might have heard loud bangs from some type of machinery and mistook the noise for gunfire. 

The Hanford Site is a de-commissioned nuclear production site that was part of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first U.S. nuclear weapons. It is now the site of a massive radioactive waste cleanup project.