U.S. Navy officials said there was no evidence that a shooting occurred at Naval Medical Center San Diego in California Tuesday morning despite earlier reports of an active shooter situation.
An active shooter was first reported at the medical centre around 11 a.m. ET Tuesday morning.
“All occupants are advised to run, hide or fight,” the medical centre said in a statement.
WATCH: Naval Medical Center San Diego advises occupants to “run, hide, or fight.”
During the initial sweep, law enforcement were unable to confirm a shooting took place.
“Since that time, we have done a number of clearing sweeps of the building,” Kurt Jones, Commanding Officer of Naval Medical Center San Diego, said at a press conference. “As of this time, we have found nothing which substantiates those reports.”
Earlier, NBC video from the scene showed San Diego Highway Patrol had blocked the entrance to the medical facility as SWAT teams arrived.
The medical facility reported the incident to be at building No. 26, which houses offices and barracks for wounded sailors and Marines as well as a gym and childcare facility in the compound.
“We are continuing to clear the building and to ensure that there are no casualties…as of right now we have found nothing that indicates any shots were fired,” the captain said.
Naval Base San Diego said the childcare facilities are “secured” and all children are safe and accounted for.
Schools in the area were placed under lockdown as a result of the police response to an active shooter situation. The lockdown has since been lifted.
The Navy said in a statement that the initial report came from a “single witness” and that “three shots were reportedly heard in the basement of building No.26.
“Someone who thought they heard something and made reports at which point in time we took the appropriate steps that we take when a report along those lines,” Jones said.
Officers were continuing to clear the scene, the captain said.
The medical center has more than 6,500 people on staff, including, civilians, contractors and volunteers, according to its site.
The facility spans 1.2 million square feet in Balboa Park, about 4 kilometres from downtown San Diego.
-Andrew Russell contributed to this report.
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