Spokane police clear explosive material that led to bomb scare at Sacred Heart Medical Center

Spokane police deployed its bomb unit to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center on Wednesday after a trauma patient flown to the hospital had a suspicious device in his possession.

The patient was flown from Oregon to Spokane. Once the man was taken to the Sacred Heart emergency room at around 2:30 p.m., hospital staff noticed something suspicious and called police, according to Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer.

“We got called in at the point that they realized there may have been an explosive device in or around his person,” Spokane Police Department spokeswoman Julie Humphreys said.

No information about the patient or the explosive materials was disclosed on Wednesday evening. Humphreys said the case is being handled by an Oregon law enforcement agency, but declined to name the agency.

The region’s largest hospital temporarily asked people in need of emergency care to seek treatment elsewhere while police officers removed the device from the hospital and put it into the street for disposal.

Police said in a news release that the situation is contained and that the explosive material may have been inadvertently brought to the hospital by the patient.

Police said preliminary information indicates the hospital was not specifically targeted.

The patient remained in the hospital Wednesday evening. Humphreys said she was unsure if the man was in custody. He was the only patient in the aircraft.