Lockdown at Walter Reed hospital near D.C. lifted

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Military authorities lifted a lockdown at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, D.C., on Wednesday after searching the facility in response to threats of a bomb and an active shooter.

Officials said they received the bomb threat just before 9 a.m. near Building 10 at Naval Support Activity Bethesda in Maryland, which is the Walter Reed hospital.

Later, authorities received word of a possible active shooter.

Around 1:15 p.m., military officials lifted the lockdown.

"The installation commanding officer has lifted the shelter in place for all locations effective immediately and has authorized the opening of Gates 1 and 3 for outbound traffic only," Naval Support Activity Bethesda tweeted.

In response to the earlier threats, all patient appointments were canceled and all gates were temporarily closed to non-emergency traffic. A shelter-in-place alert also went out for the campus.

Officials said they eventually cleared the active shooter warning, but were still investigating the bomb threat.

Walter Reed is considered one of the top military hospitals in the country, and it often cares for the president of the United States. Former President Donald Trump spent several days there last fall after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

First lady Jill Biden had a minor surgical procedure at the hospital in July.