Shooting Report: Police Swarm Walter Reed Hospital, Find ‘No Indication’ Of Gunman


Officers in body armor and helmets were deployed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after reports of a single shot fired in the area. Police were ultimately unable to find a shooter. The quick and intense response comes after a series of similar scares.

According to ABC News, a 911 caller heard a single shot fired in building one of the original hospital on the Bethesda campus on Monday morning before 11 a.m. The call put the facility in lockdown, and all personnel were instructed to shelter in place.

One worker identified by NBC as “Sam” described the situation at Walter Reed.

“This has been going on for almost two hours now. We’ve been in hiding. We had to basically evacuate all the hallways, turn off all the lights. People are getting a little anxious.”

Roads were also blocked off, and helicopters were brought in to circle the area.

According to Boston Globe, Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks ultimately denied there was any evidence of a shooting, saying “there have been no injuries reported and there’s no indication of any kind that there was a shooting.”

The authorities finished their investigation in a high-rise building at Walter Reed using bomb-sniffing dogs. Walter Reed patient care will still remain suspended until the end of the day.

Tensions are still high after the Fourth of July holiday prompted fears of a terror attack.

MSN reports that reports of a gunshot in the Washington Navy Yard set off a massive police response on Thursday before Independence Day. That shooting report was ultimately unfounded, similar to the scare at Walter Reed.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Congressman Devin Nunes described the current climate as the “highest threat level we have ever faced,” explaining that American-born ISIS fighters returning from the Middle East posed an immediate threat to the U.S. He warned citizens to be on high-alert during the Fourth of July.

Other reports shut down an Independence Day airshow in the United Kingdom due to terror threats. The Royal Air Force apologized for the sudden cancellation and explained “we have to put public safety first and foremost.”

That cancellation was related to a shooting in Tunisia that killed 38 people (including 30 Britons) on June 26. ISIS ultimately claimed responsibility for the shooting.

In the end, there is no evidence of a shooting in Walter Reed, but the police will likely stay in a heightened state of alert for some time to come.

[Image Credit: Getty Images]

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