Europe
Mildenhall intruder made it to flight line, video shows
Stars and Stripes
December 19, 2017
A BBC video shows an aerial view of a black car near a V-22 Osprey at Mildenhall, England, on Monday. (Screenshot from BBC video)
A British man who forced his way onto RAF Mildenhall, England, on Monday made it onto the airfield, video footage of the incident shows.
“While we aren’t commenting officially, you can see for yourself where the car ended up from the video,” a Suffolk police spokesman said Tuesday.
The BBC aired a video featuring an aerial view of a black car near a V-22 Osprey on Mildenhall’s flight line. U.S. military personnel opened fire during the breach and the base was temporarily put on lockdown following the “disturbance” Monday afternoon, local authorities said.
British media quoted police as saying the incident was not terrorist-related.
“Shots were fired by American service personnel and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody,” Suffolk police said in a statement.
On Monday evening, the East Anglian Daily Times quoted police as saying a 44-year-old British man was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass. The suspect was taken into custody under Britain's "mental health act," according to police.
“Police investigating an incident at RAF Mildenhall can confirm that the incident is not being treated as terrorism,” a Suffolk police spokesman told the newspaper. “Police are not looking for anyone else on the site in relation to the incident” and “there is no wider threat to the public or occupants on the base.”
In 2015 an Islamic extremist was convicted of plotting attacks on U.S. troops based in the U.K. There are roughly 18,000 U.S. servicemembers, civilians and local nationals who work at various bases in England.