All Clear After Active Shooter Alert At Palo Alto VA: Official

PALO ALTO, CA — Reports of an active shooter investigation Thursday morning at the Veterans Hospital (VA) in Palo Alto were not unfounded, Patch has learned. A spokesperson for the facility confirmed there was an active shooter alert issued at about 10:30 a.m. for the veterans facility on Miranda Avenue. Patch started looking into reports of a possible shooter at the VA hospital when at least one employee wrote on social media that they'd been ordered to shelter in place.

"Our police did respond and swept the campus," Palo Alto VA Spokesman Michael Hill-Jackson told Patch.

The alert and shelter-in-place were in effect for about 30 minutes, until 10:58 a.m. when "police had cleared the campus," Hill-Jackson said.

Palo Alto police at 11:03 a.m. said PAPD was notified there was no active shooter at the Veterans Hospital; therefore, the department response to the VA campus was canceled.

After gathering more information about the incident, Hill-Jackson issued the following statement Thursday afternoon:

"The VA Palo Alto Health Care System Police Service responded to a report of an active shooter around 10:10 am on July 26, 2018. The campus was notified to shelter in place via internal communication channels to ensure all stakeholders on campus were safe. After our police officers swept the campus, they found no active shooter and cleared us to lift the shelter in place.

"At 10:58 am, the campus was cleared to resume operations. At this time, we do not know who made the call but VA Palo Alto takes these reports very seriously. Our VA Police are among the best in the country and we thank them for their timely response in ensuring everyone on our campus is safe."

Image via Patch