MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – It was a terrifying Friday for Nicklaus Children's Hospital. The Miami-Dade Police Department was investigating phone threats warning of a bomb and an active shooter.
The 2:58 p.m. call prompted an evacuation, Miami-Dade Police Detective Daniel Ferrin said. Police kept patients who were in critical condition with the doctors, while snipers climbed up to the roof.
Police said searches of the hospital, at 3100 SW 62nd Ave., and surrounding areas revealed no credible threats.
Hospital spokeswoman Rachel Perry later said a shooting never happened. And after several hours, authorities said they didn't find a bomb. They deemed the hospital safe.
"We are grateful for the calm," Perry said about 8:45 p.m.
But before Perry's announcement there was fear. A woman said that her daughter, who works at the hospital, couldn't leave the building. Another woman said she was holding her baby, as she and five others were locked inside a bathroom on the third floor. A father and his son waited in a room.
Hospital coordinator Jenny Rakitina said she didn't know what was going on, but she and others hid anyway. A person was crying. She felt terror when someone started knocking on the door.
"We asked if it was really a shooter," Rakitina said. "We didn't know if it was the police or somebody else ... We opened the door and then we saw a few other guys standing there with their guns and we just ran down."
Miami-Dade police said traffic near the hospital was being rerouted. No injuries were reported and the report was deemed to be a false alarm.
