MIAMI (WSVN) - Police lifted a lockdown at Jackson Memorial Hospital after threats to carry out a shooting at the building, as well as place explosives at several South Florida hospitals, turned out to be unfounded.
The West Wing Building at the hospital’s main campus, located at Northwest 16th Street and 12th Avenue, was locked down after the building received a threat about a possible shooting, Monday morning.
“I’m a little nervous. We’re not quite sure what’s going on,” said Nurse Regine Louis Alexander.
University of Miami Police announced the lockdown in a tweet sent out at 11:33 a.m.
“I know we take all threats seriously,” said Alexander. “Jackson Memorial does not play when it comes to threats.”
The threat came in the form of an email that was sent to 7News, then forwarded directly to police.
The first email, sent at 9:46 a.m., read, “I AM GOING TO SHOOT JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. THIS TIME IS REAL. WEST WING BUILDING WILL BE BLOODY… ”
Hours later, a second email came in at 12:14 p.m. naming several other South Florida hospitals in addition to JMH.
The email read as follows:
“I STILL HAVE A BOMB AT JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, BUT I ALSO HAVE ONE AT JACKSON NORTH AND SOUTH. I ALSO HAVE ONE AT UM HOSPITAL AND VA HOSPITAL. THIS IS BIG TAKE ME SERIOUS. THE TIMER IS TICKING. I AM PLANTING ONE NOW AT BROWARD GENERAL HOSPITAL AND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND KENDALL HOSPITAL. ALL HOSPITALS WILL HAVE A BOMB AND MY TEAM AND I WILL TAKE OUT ANY AND EVERY LAW ENFORCEMENT.”
Both JMH and the VA Hospital were heavily guarded and searched. At 2:11 p.m., UM Police tweeted the all clear, stating, “Police incident at JMH has been resolved.”
After several hours, Miami-Dade Police said Jackson was back to normal operations.
Many visitors were not allowed into the building.
“It’s very inconvenient,” said visitor Luke Rivera. “I can’t leave because the whole hospital is on lockdown right now.”
This is the second time in less than a week that a threat was made to JMH. A man was taken into custody Friday after a threat was made by phone to the hospital.
Now the focus has turned to finding the person who made Monday’s threats.
“I hope he can turn himself in and get the help that he needs,” said Alexander. “Sometimes we are stressed out, and we do need help, and I hope he can definitely seek the assistance that he does need.”
If you have any information on who could have made the threats, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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