Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera lifted a campus-wide lockdown Friday after an anonymous caller threatened around 11 a.m. to show up with a rifle and a bomb, sending deputies and a helicopter racing to the scene before investigators concluded no danger was ever present. The hospital’s main and emergency department entrances have since reopened, though an increased law enforcement presence remains on campus as a precaution.
Hospital officials confirmed the lockdown was initiated after the threat was called in late Friday morning, according to Valley Children’s Hospital, which stated that the campus-wide lockdown began after the hospital and local law enforcement received the threat. The caller reportedly told authorities he intended to come to the hospital armed with a rifle and a bomb, as reported by GV Wire.
Madera County Sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded to and investigated at the scene, per The Fresno Bee. A CHP helicopter circled the area as authorities searched for danger, according to KMPH Fox 26, whose reporting indicated Madera police had received a phone threat from a man who said he was headed to the hospital armed.
No Sighting, No Contact, No Danger Found
Despite the scale of the response, hospital officials reported there was no sighting or contact with any individual during the lockdown, according to YourCentralValley.com. Authorities ultimately found no threat on the premises, the same KMPH Fox 26 report noted, and the hospital was cleared to resume normal entry procedures…