"Active Shooter" At San Diego Naval Medical Center

A Facebook post was issued on Tuesday morning stating that an "active shooter" has been reported at San Diego Naval Medical Center. The armed suspect was reportedly in building #26 on the vast campus. The Naval Medical Center is advising all but emergency personnel to avoid the area and those who are inside to "run, hide, or fight." Commonly referred to as Balboa Hospital, the 78.4-acre campus is located in the Balboa Park neighborhood of San Diego and provides comprehensive medical care in addition to research. It is a major teaching hospital with a mixed staff of civilians and military personnel of over 6,500. Building #26 reportedly also serves as a gym facility in addition to offering barracks to wounded warriors as well as active duty personnel.

There have been no officers requested or dispatched nor has there been aid needed, according to the San Diego Police Department. According to local Fox affiliate Fox 5, three schools in the nearby area were reportedly placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure. Those include San Diego High School, Roosevelt Middle School, and Garfield Elementary School. They have since had that lockdown designation lifted, though students and staff are being told to shelter in place. San Diego City College is reportedly currently not on lockdown as of this writing.

Three shots were reportedly fired inside the basement of the building at around 8 a.m., though there have been no reports of injuries as of this writing. Point Loma Naval base, which is also in San Diego, has also reportedly been placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure. An even closer naval base at Coronado has yet to confirm whether it has also been placed on lockdown. The nearby San Diego Zoo is reportedly operating normally.

A SWAT team has reportedly responded to the site and has been deployed to the Naval Medical Center. U.S. Marshals are reportedly also assisting with this incident. Authorities are currently working to get in contact with the person who reportedly first phoned in about this emergency situation. According to California Highway Patrol Officer John Perryman, who spoke with Fox 5, the perimeter and all gates leading into the campus have reportedly been closed until further notice. As people are being led out of various buildings at the Naval Medical Center, more ambulances and firetrucks are arriving at the scene.

The Naval Medical Center has released a statement detailing the limited information that they can currently confirm as of this writing. According to a Navy Regional Southwest spokesperson, an initial sweep of the facility revealed no "casualties or evidence of a shooting having taken place." A secondary sweep is being conducted.

During a press conference about the incident, Capt. Curt Jones indicated that the reports of shots fired have so far yet to be substantiated:

Prior to 0800, a single report of three shots fired [was reported]. Since that time we have done a number of clearing sweeps of the building and as of this time we have found nothing which substantiates those reports. We are continuing to clear the building and to ensure that there are no causalities, and that there is nothing that is not quite right in the building. As of right now we have found absolutely nothing that indicates shots fired.

This story is still developing...

Images: Wikimedia (1), Screenshot/Fox 5 (1)