HOUSTON, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. army base in Texas went into lockdown for several hours Sunday after a college student tried to drive a "suspicious vehicle" to enter the base, officials said Monday.
Fort Sam Houston was put on heightened security measures Sunday and went into lockdown for four hours because of a "suspicious vehicle that attempted to access the installation without appropriate credentials" through one of its gates, the military post said in a statement.
Once "law enforcement and the explosive ordnance disposal specialists were able to verify the vehicle posed no threat, the lockdown was lifted and we resumed normal operations," the statement said.
The identity of the driver has not been released. Officials who spoke with media said the driver is a male student who attends or attended a local college. He was detained for questioning and released later. No other passengers were in the vehicle, according to officials.
Earlier some local media outlets reported that the driver was a Saudi Arabia national with explosives in his car. Officials on Monday dismissed such reports and said they found "nothing" in the vehicle.
The event rekindled memories of two deadly shooting rampages in Fort Hood, another U.S. army post also located in Texas. One happened in April when an army truck driver shot dead three fellow soldiers and wounded 16 others before taking his own life at the post.
The other happened on Nov. 5, 2009, when an army psychiatrist opened fire at a soldier readiness center on the base. That shooting left 13 people dead and more than 30 wounded. It was the worst shooting to have taken place on an American domestic military installation.
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