Suspicious package at MacDill AFB contained possible energetic materials

Possible energetic materials were identified in a suspicious package found outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, according to the FBI. A shelter-in-place was also issued at the base on Wednesday, though officials have not said whether it was connected to the package investigation.

The package was reported at about 11:20 a.m. Monday outside the visitor center near the Dale Mabry Gate, according to the base. The scene was declared safe at about 5 p.m.

In an update posted Wednesday, FBI Tampa said field screening of the package’s contents identified “possible energetic materials.” The agency said final lab analysis was not yet complete and that the investigation remains active and ongoing.

The FBI did not release additional details about the contents of the package. MacDill has also not said how it was discovered.

On Wednesday, MacDill also ordered a shelter-in-place after what it described only as a threat against the base. The order was lifted at about 2 p.m. after the threat was cleared.

The day before, the base said it had moved to FPCON Charlie, a heightened force protection posture that allows deliberate security measures to be put in place proactively.

MacDill is home to U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, the combatant command overseeing ongoing U.S. military operations against Iran.

Officials have not said whether that posture change, the Wednesday threat and the suspicious package investigation are connected.