Newport Hospital was placed on lockdown Saturday afternoon after a man called the facility’s switchboard and threatened to “shoot the place up” with a rifle, police said.
The hospital alerted the Newport Police Department at 3:50 p.m. on May 9, reporting the caller said he would arrive at 4 p.m. armed with a rifle, according to a release issued by police.
Multiple Newport officers were dispatched immediately. Rhode Island State Police troopers, who had been monitoring the department’s radio frequency, also responded to assist.
Newport Hospital activated its lockdown protocol while officers and troopers were posted at the building’s entrances.
As of 5:45 p.m., police said there was no credible threat to the hospital, its patients, staff or the public. The hospital had begun scaling back the lockdown by that time.
A uniformed Newport police officer will remain stationed at the hospital as a precaution, police said.
The incident remains under investigation. Police did not release information about the caller or whether anyone has been identified as a suspect.
Newport Hospital, part of Brown University Health, is the only acute care hospital on Aquidneck Island.
This is a developing story. What’sUpNewp will update as more information becomes available.
