Authorities swarmed Mercy Southwest Hospital after reports of an active shooter at the hospital Wednesday around 8 p.m. Just before 11 p.m. Bakersfield Police said that their search was complete within the hospital and found no evidence of an active shooter.
Following the investigation, a press conference was held in regards to the "code black" lockdown. Bakersfield Police Sergeant Brian Holcombe said that at 7:57 p.m., there was a call made by a hospital staff member that said there was a possible active shooter. According to the President and CEO of Mercy Southwest Hospital, Bruce Peters, an operator at the hospital made the announcement of a "code black."
Sergeant Holcombe said that over 100 emergency personnel were on scene.
Peters said that he's unclear of the origin of the alert and that the hospital staff went through the active shooter protocol. He said that everyone is safe and that he was not aware of any gunman being in the hospital.
Holcombe said that initially there were reports of a shattered window, however, officials determined the window was not shattered, it was smudged.
According to Holcombe, there is no evidence of shots fired.
A canvas of the hospital was conducted and officials confirmed that there wasn't a shooter and that no shots were fired. Officials said there were no confirmed victims and no confirmed shooting.
Officials said that since the time officers arrived they didn't hear any shots fired. Some nearby businesses were asked to lockdown.
CSUB sent out a tweet saying that there is no threat to the campus, but for anyone on campus to stay away from the hospital.
Because of emergency situation @ Mercy Hospital Southwest, UPD is requesting all individuals on campus stay clear of the hospital & remain indoors until Bakersfield PD completes its investigation. There is no known threat to the campus, UPD will continue to monitor the situation.
— CSUB (@CSUBakersfield) August 2, 2018
Bakersfield Police and the CEO and President of Mercy Southwest hospital said that they are going to continue to investigate the incident.
Bakersfield Police sent out a press release following the incident, recapping the incident.
They said that following the search of the hospital there was no evidence of a shooting and no injuries reported. Police said that no arrests were made and the source of what appears to have been a falsely reported emergency is under investigation.
This is an ongoing investigation, anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111.
