BENTON COUNTY, Wash. — Law enforcement believes reports of shots fired inside a building at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation site was a false alarm. The building was locked down on Tuesday morning while deputies investigated.
“What happened, once we got on scene we were able to identify some folks in the building that told us what had happened," Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey said. "And as of right now, no one actually saw a gun. No one actually heard what sounded like gunfire. It could have been a mechanical problem in the building or some kind of maintenance."
The reports of possible shots fired were taken very seriously. Communication went out to some employees shortly after 10:30 AM about the incident, according to CBS affiliate KEPR.
The message read, "Active Assailant at 2750E in 200 East Area. Affected employees prepare to run hide fight. Employees in nearby buildings are to lockdown and prepare to run hide fight. All others stay away."
Benton County Sheriff’s Office said law enforcement searched the building but didn't find any evidence of shots being fired.
"There’s been no victims reported or located. There’s been no guns, no gunpowder, no smoke in the air, nothing that would indicate an actual shooting that has occurred," Croskrey said.
On its website, Hanford posted, "Hanford Site personnel, with the exception of 2750E Building personnel, can now return to their normal duties.
An investigation is ongoing at the 2750E Building in the 200 East Area. Current reports indicated work activities in the immediate area likely caused the noises originally reported as shots fired to the Patrol Operations Center."
Despite indications that there was not a shooting, law enforcement said they are glad that people reported what they heard.
"There were a couple people in the building who heard that and that was enough for them to say, ‘We don’t know what it was, but let’s report it.’ Which is good," Croskrey said. "That’s what we want. We want people calling 911 instead of calling and finding out something’s bad, we’d rather them call and let us find out that everything’s ok."