No evidence of active shooter at Walter Reed, police say
Report of a possible gunshot triggered lockdown
Police say there is no indication there was a shooting at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday after an unconfirmed report of an active shooter on the hospital's Bethesda, Md., campus triggered a lockdown.
#WalterReed employees were told to shelter in place via a text alert. http://t.co/bwXbv77oFq pic.twitter.com/dYmZiVW2bx
— NBCWashington (@nbcwashington) July 6, 2015
According to police in Montgomery County, a 911 caller reported hearing one shot fired inside Building 1 at approximately 10:48 a.m.
Call received at approx. 10:48 a.m. for report of single shot heard on Walter Reed campus. Officers have not confirmed initial report.
— Montgomery Co Police (@mcpnews) July 6, 2015
The facility was placed on lockdown while local police and federal agents searched the area.
UPDATE on unconfirmed report of shot fired at #WalterReed / Bethesda. Security searching buildings. No confirmation of incident.
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) July 6, 2015
Employees were seen being evacuated from a building with their hands raised.
#BreakingNews watching armed personnel escort #WalterReed employees out, report of a gunshot heard pic.twitter.com/HCAPgWBC2q
— Brad Freitas (@NewsChopperBrad) July 6, 2015
Staffers sheltering in place tweeted updates from inside the facility.
Are we sure it wasn't just a car backfiring on/off base? I didn't hear anything on my way in today. https://t.co/fRvRUXtFHV
— Heather (@heather_kopf) July 6, 2015
Others called their family members, who relayed messages via Twitter.
my sister asks me to tweet that she's safe & in lockdown, in complete blackness & someone is passing around candy #walterReed @wusa9
— Allison Baughman (@baughwoman) July 6, 2015
Nearby roads were also closed as a precaution.
Rockville pike shut down near #WalterReed where police search after a report of shooter. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/vZ6PlaJRDI
— Hank Silverberg (@HankSilverberg) July 6, 2015
At a 1 p.m. press briefing, Montgomery Capt. Paul Starks said officials were close to completing a sweep of Building 1 and there was "no indication of any kind" that there was a shooting, and no injuries reported.
Once the building is cleared, Starks said, it would searched by bomb-sniffing dogs "out of an abundance of caution."
The sweep was completed at 1:30 p.m., police said.
Last week, a report of possible gunshots heard by an employee at the Washington Navy Yard triggered a massive law enforcement response. But a subsequent search found no evidence a shooting had occurred.
That false alarm came two years after a gunman opened fire inside a building at the Navy Yard, killing 12 people and injuring three others.