Sylmar hospital evacuated after employee's report of man with gun, authorities say

SYLMAR, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A report of a man with a gun prompted the evacuation of a hospital in Sylmar on Thursday morning, but no gunman was found after deputies searched the facility floor by floor, authorities said.

Shortly before 10 a.m., the initial report prompted a massive law-enforcement response to the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, where SWAT team members and Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies set up a perimeter in the area.

Authorities determined that no shooting occurred and no one was injured, the sheriff's department said.

At a news conference, a sheriff's spokesman said a woman who works at the hospital was confronted on the second floor of the seven-story building by a man armed with a gun. The employee fled and notified authorities.

The man also fled and was being sought. Investigators were examining surveillance video in an effort to find an image of the suspect that could be distributed to the public.

As of 11 a.m., a crowd of patients and hospital staffers were still in the parking lot following the evacuation. Some 90 minutes later, the sheriff's department said the hospital was "cleared and resuming normal operations."

County and city firefighter-paramedics assisted in the transfer of some patients to nearby hospitals for ongoing medical attention, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.

The investigation was ongoing.