Police detained a suspect following reports of shots fired at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Downey on Tuesday, prompting a massive police response and the evacuation of the medical complex as authorities searched the facility for additional suspects or victims.
Downey police say they initially initially responded to a report of shots fired at the hospital, and a suspect was taken into custody, but there no shots were fired, and an upset patient who claimed to have a weapon was detained.
Video taken by NBC LA showed armed deputies in tactical gear escorting people out of the hospital. Deputies were reportedly going room by room in the medical complex, searching for victims and any other additional suspects.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department tweeted that they had sent units to assist Downey Police with a "fluid" possible active shooter situation at a hospital located at 9333 Imperial Highway. Police and sheriff's vehicles could be seen flooding the intersection of Imperial Highway and Bellflower Boulevard.
The hospital is located near a large shopping center in the area called Downey Landing.
Witnesses told reporters that the trouble began after a disgruntled man began complaining near the hospital's psychiatric ward.
A woman who said she was inside the hospital told ABC7 said she was meeting with a doctor when "we started hearing screaming and yelling outside, and cussing, a lot of cussing."
"He was saying, 'I have a gun and people are gonna die,'" the woman told Channel 7.
She and a doctor locked themselves inside a room, remaining there for about an hour until police cleared her floor and moved them to a holding area. The witness told the station that she didn't actually see the suspect and did not hear any gunfire, but the man could be heard throwing things around.
"He was saying profanity, a lot of profanity, and looking for one particular person,'' the woman told ABC7. "He said people are gonna die, I have a gun and I'm gonna break everything in here. And you just heard things hitting the wall, hitting the ground."
LASD officials confirmed that no injuries have been reported in the incident.
This is a breaking news update. More details will be added as they become available.