US army base in Hawaii is locked down for search for armed man

A US Army base in Hawaii was placed under lockdown Thursday afternoon as authorities searched for a man they believed to be armed with a handgun.

At about 2:30 pm, an armed man dressed in civilian clothing was confronted by a soldier at the Schofield Barracks on Oahu Island, according to Mike Donnelly, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii.

There were unconfirmed reports of shots fired on the base and schools on the base were following active shooter lockdown procedures, Donnelly said.

A Honolulu Police Department SWAT team and military police were sweeping the base for the suspect, who was described as a 5-foot-10 light skinned male in his 20s or 30s wearing a button-down Hawaiian shirt and bluejeans with Nike sneakers, authorities said.

The man had a mohawk-style haircut and was carrying a camouflage cross-body bag. He was last seen near the base’s commissary at about 3:20 p.m., Donnelly said.