Crime & Safety

West Covina Medical Facilities Locked Down After Threat

A phone call from an unknown man threatening to shoot people with an AK-47 prompted the lockdown and search of two medical facilities.

Two West Covina medical facilities were locked down today after authorities received an anonymous call from a man threatening to start shooting people with an AK-47, but it turned out to be a hoax.

At 12:51 p.m., the Covina Police Department called West Covina Police about the call in which the man said he was at Citrus Medical Center, according to West Covina Officer Rudy Lopez.

Although there is no Citrus Medical Center in the area, Queen of the Valley Hospital and Citrus Valley Hospice in West Covina are linked with other hospitals in Glendora and Covina as part of the Citrus Valley Health Partners, Lopez wrote in a news release.

The West Covina Police responded to Queen of the Valley, located at 1115 S. Sunset Ave., and Citrus Valley Hospice, 820 N. Phillips Ave., and started a search.  Both the hospital and hospice voluntarily went on lock-down status and after no gunman was found, they reopened just after 3 p.m., he said. 

A Monrovia middle school received a similar threat around the same time.

The investigation in on-going. Anyone with information is asked to contact the West Covina Police Department at 626-939-8500. Anonymous tips can be left as a recorded message at 626-939-8688.


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