Hospital patients at Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills were moved to the parking lot for a brief period on Sunday afternoon, after a bomb threat officials say turned out to be a false alarm.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced on Twitter on Sunday afternoon that someone said they had a bomb at the hospital, just before 4 o’clock.
“Deputies are at Saddleback Hospital reference a subject who claimed to be at the location with a bomb,” the Twitter statement from OCSD Laguna Hills division reads.
“Deputies have established a perimeter and are working with security. A command post with OCFA has been established. Please avoid the area.”
Roughly 15 minutes later, OCSD added in a second tweet that they were investigating to see if the incident was a possible swatting call.
Swatting is the act of calling emergency services with a fake threat or emergency to bring large numbers of armed officers to a particular location.
Deputies searched, and cleared the area after about an hour, saying nothing suspicious was seen.
“Investigators have confirmed the reported bomb threat at Saddleback Hospital was false,” OCSD announced on Twitter just after 5 p.m.
No information about arrests has yet been made available.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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