Hospital Lockdown Unresolved

A man with a gun allegedly spotted at St. Elizabeth Hospital Aug. 11 caused the facility to go into lockdown. Neither police nor hospital staff found anything dangerous in their search.

A nurse reported the sighting at 5:57 p.m. The hospital took similar action as a school would in this circumstance, moving patients, visitors and staff into storage rooms. Enumclaw Police, Buckley Police and Washington State Patrol assisted on the search of the exterior. The man was apparently spotted in the parking lot, although the nurse who called in had received the information third hand.

After no one with a gun was found, the lockdown concluded at 8:03 p.m. Lt. Bob Huebler of the EPD said he thought there was good cooperation between law enforcement and hospital staff.

One man who was in the hospital at the time said that the incident exposed shortcomings of the procedures.

"The door to the unfinished storeroom where we were all moved was not wide enough to accommodate a regular hospital bed or some of the chairs that were used to transport patients who were unable to walk," Daniel Williams said. "There was barely room for the approximately 35 people who had to be in there."

Patch will provide updates on the incident as they become available.