Suspicious Package At Bay Pines VA Hospital Prompts Evacuation

BAY PINES, FL — A suspicious package was discovered at a Bay Pines hospital for veterans on Tuesday morning, prompting authorities to evacuate staff and patients while they investigated, officials confirmed.

Authorities later determined the package posed no threat, a spokesman for the C.W. Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Bay Pines Boulevard said in a statement.

According to hospital officials, the package was discovered around 9:20 a.m. on the first floor of the main hospital.

Authorities evacuated the area as the Tampa Police Department bomb squad and the FBI evaluated the package, officials said. The hospital's emergency room also closed but reopened around 11:40 a.m., officials said.

Officials also said some appointments scheduled for Tuesday in the main hospital were rescheduled.