Federal employee caused shooter hoax to bond with co-workers, prosecutors say

An active shooter hoax that prompted a lockdown at New Jersey’s largest military base was caused by a civilian employee who wanted to “trauma bond” with her colleagues, according to court documents.

Malika Brittingham, who works for the Naval Air Warfare Center in Maryland and is assigned to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, faces counts of knowingly conveying false and misleading information related to the use of firearms at a federal facility, according to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors. It wasn’t known Wednesday if she’s retained an attorney.

The lockdown order was issued shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday at the sprawling base, which is among the nation’s largest military installations. According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Brittingham allegedly texted someone around 10:15 a.m., writing that a shooter was on the base, that she had heard five or six shots and that she was hiding in a closet with co-workers.

The person she texted then called the base’s operation center and 911, relaying what Brittingham told her, the complaint stated. That prompted the lockdown order, officials said.

The lockdown lasted about an hour before base officials determined there was no shooter.

Brittingham initially told authorities that she did not send the text until after she was told to shelter in place, according to the complaint, but further investigation regarding the timing proved that was false, prosecutors said.

Brittingham eventually admitted that she sent the text and knew there was no active shooter, prosecutors said. She told investigators she carried out the hoax because she had been “ostracized by her co-workers and hoped that their shared experience in response to an active shooter would allow them to ‘trauma bond,’” the complaint said.

The U.S. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst spans 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) and combines Air Force, Army and Navy functions with more than 42,000 service members, relatives and civilian employees.

The incident unfolded as U.S. military leaders gathered at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had summoned them from around the world to hear him declare an end to “woke” culture in the armed forces, among other Trump administration priorities.