LOS ANGELES Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:53pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force installation in Los Angeles was placed under a security lockdown on Tuesday afternoon, a spokeswoman said, as police said they were investigating a report of a possible suspicious person at the base.
Los Angeles Air Force Base spokeswoman Peggy Hodge confirmed the lockdown but declined to provide further details or say what prompted the move.
The nearby Hawthorne Police Department said in a Twitter message it was assisting in the investigation of a "possible suspicious person on base," about a mile from Los Angeles International Airport.
Hawthorne police later referred media calls regarding the incident to base officials.
Local KTLA-TV reported the suspicious person was seen wearing a vest or backpack with wires protruding from it and possibly carrying ammunition magazines. There were no reports of shots having been fired.
Several streets surrounding the base were shut down during the investigation.
The base said the lockdown minimized all pedestrian and vehicle traffic to ensure the safety of all personnel until an all-clear was declared.
According to its website, the Los Angeles Air Force Base provides administrative and base services to the personnel assigned to the Space and Missile Systems Center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
The base does not conduct flight operations of its own.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Steve Gorman and Peter Cooney)