Las Vegas police say incident at Summerlin Hospital was ‘false alarm’

A response to a possible active shooter Wednesday morning at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center was a “false alarm,” Las Vegas police said.

“At this time the hospital is returning to business as usual,” the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement at about 10:30 a.m.

Police received conflicting reports about 9:30 a.m. and responded to the hospital, 653 North Town Center Drive.

“As we responded, it started to become clear to us that there may not be an active shooter, however we did respond with all of our assets,” Metro officer Larry Hadfield said at the scene.

Units entered the facility to ensure there were no injuries and no shots were fired. Police determined the incident was caused by a suspicious person who was thought to have a firearm, Hadfield said.

“It’s good to know that the LVPD is able to respond to these types of circumstances, and I think this is a good example of no matter what the situation is that we’re going to respond and we’re going to take care of it,” he said.

As of 11 a.m., police were unable to verify whether anyone had a firearm, and no one was in custody.

“People might think that it’s an over-convergence,” Hadfield said. “We would say we must be safe rather than sorry.”

Parts of the hospital were locked down as the area was cleared, police said.

“On behalf of Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, we would like to thank the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for their quick and incredible response to what turned out to be a false alarm reported earlier today. We are grateful for your service,” a hospital spokeswoman said in a statement.

Contact Lawren Linehan at llinehan@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0381. Follow @lawrenlinehan on Twitter.