Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital was locked down briefly Thursday
morning after a citizen observed two people exchanging a rifle in
the parking lot, but police later found the residents involved and
determined they had switched vehicles and transferred an air rifle,
according to the Hollister Police Department.
Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital was locked down briefly Thursday morning after a citizen observed two people exchanging a rifle in the parking lot, but police later found the residents involved and determined they had switched vehicles and transferred an air rifle, according to the Hollister Police Department.
Police received the report around 11:15 a.m., and the hospital was locked down and secured as a precaution. The citizen reported seeing two residents and believed they had exchanged a rifle in the parking lot, said Hollister police Capt. Carlos Reynoso. The witness drove away and called authorities, Reynoso said.
Officers with the police department and San Benito County Sheriff’s Office set up a perimeter, but did not immediately locate the vehicle matching the witness description. After viewing surveillance video, however, police located the people in question.
“We were able to track them down with the use of surveillance cameras, the vehicle in question,” Reynoso said, “and it turns out it was only a BB gun.”
Family members had exchanged their vehicles and one of the residents decided to take the air rifle home. All of the residents involved were adults, Reynoso said.
