Authorities responding to a report of a gunshot fired at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Monday morning placed the facility on lockdown as they searched for a possible gunman.
Montgomery County Police spokeswoman Natasha Plotnikov said a 911 call came shortly before 11 a.m., and reported a single gunshot in
Building 1 of the medical center, according to The Associated Press.
Walter Reed’s 8,500 employees received a text message alert shortly after the reported shot instructing a shelter in place and warning of an active shooter. The campus remains on a “code white” as of Monday afternoon, and the nearby school Stone Ridge of the Sacred Heart is also on lockdown.
"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," one worker told NBC Washington. "People are getting a little anxious."
From the scene, those involved took to Twitter to share the latest:
The U.S. Navy and Montgomery County Police tweeted to inform followers of the extensive response following the reported gunshot:
The roads surrounding the 243-acre campus are closed as the investigation persists.
The alleged shooter comes just days after a woman reported hearing gunshots inside the Washington Navy Yard on Thursday. Authorities placed the Navy Yard on lockdown as they swarmed the building, only to find no signs of a shooting.
"We don't believe that it was a malicious hoax or incident like that," D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier later told NBC Washington.