Update – 1:55 p.m. – Police say they found no evidence of gunshots Monday after a floor-by-floor search of the iconic Building 1 in the center of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Employees and personnel at the base were ordered to shelter in place and the campus was put on lockdown shortly before 11 a.m., when a caller from inside the 20-story building claimed to hear shots. The U.S. Navy, which is in charge of the base, and Montgomery County Police, which responded to the scene said no incidents, injuries or casualties have been confirmed.
Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks said at 1:30 p.m. that police had searched all of the floors of that building and haven't uncovered any evidence of a shooting. Starks said police plan to bring in K-9s to search the building for explosive devices out of an abundance of caution.
Law enforcement officials escorted employees who had been sheltering in place out of the building as they cleared each room and each floor, Starks said.
County police worked with a host of federal security agencies and other law enforcement organizations to investigate the report.
All non-emergency patient care at the facility has been suspended Monday, according to the U.S. Navy.
Rockville Pike, which was closed between Cedar Lane and Jones Bridge Road for about two hours while police searched the campus, was reopened around 1:30 p.m. The gates to the medical center were closed during the police response. The Medical Center Metro station remained open during the investigation, according to Metro. Nearby Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, which currently hosts summer programs, was placed on a modified lockdown, a school official said.
The medical center has about 7,000 staff members and is responsible for treating military service members. It also provides care to the president and vice president of the United States as well as members of Congress and justices of the Supreme Court. It's located on a 243 acre campus.
Photos by Aaron Kraut
We’ll update this post with more information as it becomes available.
Photo: The Walter Reed campus is located off of Rockville Pike in Bethesda. Credit: U.S. Navy
