Malika Brittingham, the woman in custody for making a false report of an active shooter at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and causing a lockdown wanted to "trauma bond" with her coworkers, according to court documents.

A criminal complaint filed in federal court said Brittingham — who works for the Naval Air Warfare Center in Maryland but is assigned to Joint Base MDL — 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 coworkers.

The text prompted a lockdown order just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, after the person she texted called the base's operation center and 911, relaying what Brittingham told her, the complaint stated.

The lockdown, which drew statewide attention and multiple social media posts from Gov. Phil Murphy, was lifted after base officials determined there was no shooter.

"Our priority is the safety and security of everyone on the installation," Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Commander Col. Michael Stefanovic said in a later update on social media. "We worked closely with local law enforcement and emergency responders to ensure the situation was investigated and resolved as quickly as possible."    

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.

She now 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 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.