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Pellet gun firing causes Navy base lockdown

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A major Navy base ground to a halt for about two hours Thursday after a report of a man seen waving a weapon led to the detention of a sailor who fired a gun that shoots soft plastic pellets.

The sailor, whose name was not released, told authorities that he fired his weapon at a mirror in a parking garage from his barracks' window, said Capt. Scott Adams, commanding officer of Naval Base Point Loma. Pellets were recovered near the mirror

All base personnel were ordered inside and told to stay away from windows and doors after Adams received a call around 10 a.m. PDT that someone was brandishing a weapon inside the barracks. The alleged shooter went to a nearby room in the barracks to join another serviceman.

The sailor surrendered to Naval Criminal Investigative Service officials around 12:30 p.m. PDT, Adams said. Both servicemen were taken into custody.

Naval Base Point Loma, located on the tip of a peninsula near downtown San Diego, houses seven submarines, the Third Fleet Command, the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and other major units. Six naval installations were consolidated on the base in 1998 as part of a military downsizing that followed the end of the Cold War.

The base commander characterized the weapon as an airsoft gun, which are designed to fire soft pellets, often for recreational purposes.

"It was something designed for sporting activity," he said.

Adams said he didn't know the rank or history of the alleged shooter, or whether he exhibited any warning signs. The sailor lived in the barracks room, which houses junior enlisted servicemen, he said.