WARWICK – Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport went into a brief lockdown Friday as state and local police responded to a possible threat, multiple news outlets reported.
However, the airport was reopened after 12:50 p.m. Friday after police determined there was no security threat, WPRI-TV CBS 12 reported.
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Warwick Police Chief Bradford Connor told WPRI earlier the department “received a call of a possible threat at the airport, multiple agencies are investigating now and conducting a search of the parking lots.”
WJAR-TV NBC 10 reported Warwick’s officer in charge told their reporter that someone called police claiming to have a rifle, and then hung up.
State Police Col. Darnell Weaver told WPRI the threat “appears to be unfounded at this time,” adding that troopers have set up a perimeter around the parking garage and a Warwick SWAT team is now clearing the garage.
“Preliminary, what we have is the call came into Warwick police about a potential suspect with a rifle,” Weaver told WPRI. “They responded to the area, it was isolated to the parking garage, not the actual terminal.”
The lockdown disrupted traffic around the airport, where police had blocked the entrances. Some inbound flights to T.F. Green were also diverted to other airports, according to WPRI.
(Update: Story updated with flights diverted during lockdown in 7th paragraph)
This story will be updated.
