Bomb threat prompts lockdown at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow

Gritman Medical Center initiated a full lockdown of its South Main Street facility Wednesday afternoon after an unidentified caller threatened to bomb the hospital, according to Peter Mundt, Gritman’s director of community relations and marketing.

After a detailed search of the building by Moscow police, fire and hospital personnel, no suspicious device was located and the building was reopened later that afternoon, Mundt said.

He said a phone call came through the Gritman administration line at 1:25 p.m., and a staff member reported a bomb threat was made. The hospital employee tried to obtain information from the caller, but the caller, believed to be a male, ended the call.

Mundt said emergency personnel responded quickly, and the hospital entered into a full lockdown, meaning all exterior doors were secured and no one was allowed in the facility. All incoming patients were directed to the emergency entrance during the lockdown.

Personnel from Gritman and the police and fire departments made the decision to end the lockdown at 3:36 p.m. No one was evacuated during the lockdown.

Moscow Police Department Capt. Roger Lanier said the caller did not mention a specific plan of action and said only that there was a bomb and it was going to blow up.

Mundt said while a lockdown can be alarming, it should not be reason for undue panic. He said it is simply a means for Gritman and emergency responders to conduct a search of the building to ensure the safety of the hospital and its staff, patients and visitors.