Ben Taub gets 'all clear' after SWAT search finds no evidence of shooting

Houston police officers responded to reports of shots fired at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Houston police officers responded to reports of shots fired at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Ben Taub gets 'all clear' after SWAT search finds no evidence of shooting 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

After searching Ben Taub Hospital twice and interviewing witnesses about a reported shooting, the Houston Police Department gave an "all clear" Tuesday afternoon and returned control of the hospital back to medical staff.

Although an early report indicated a shooter had been cornered on a floor of the hospital, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said that no evidence was found of an active shooter or shooting.

"It wasn't a mistake, there was a specific reason (we responded)," Acevedo said. "We had multiple witnesses that heard a man yell, 'Drop the gun, drop the gun.' Multiple people heard two large bangs, whether or not those were gunshots is subject to further investigation."

But Acevedo, who arrived on the scene shortly after SWAT officers arrived, said there was no evidence of a shooting, such as bullet casings, broken windows or bullet holes. Police did not find any victims during their first and second checks.

"All patients and employees are safe at this point," Acevedo said.

Reports started coming in about 2 p.m. of shots fired, Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said.

Medical providers hid inside their offices at Ben Taub Hospital as Houston police responded to reports of shots fired inside the building. Others barricaded themselves in available areas of the hospital.

Patients in the Emergency Room told the Chronicle that hospital staff originally said the flurry of action was part of a drill but then began disconnecting patients from their IVs. Images showed nurses and others bringing patients outside on hospital beds and gurneys.

More patrol units as well as members of the SWAT team were en route at 2:15 p.m.

Texas Southern University student Pegah Nassiri was working the second day of her job when she heard staff announce a "code white" over the hospital's loud speaker.

"I didn't know what code white meant, but we knew we needed to lock ourselves in a room," Nassiri said.

She said she and another student stayed locked in a first floor room for 15 minutes before police found them and told them to get out.

Barbara Mushinski, who has been a nurse at Ben Traub for nine years, said colleagues on the second floor told her they heard gunshots and heard someone say to put down a gun.

She said 10 people near the eye clinic on the second floor were told to shelter in place. But the clinic is a busy, noisy place, where banging noises are not uncommon.

"It was completely unreal, terrifying actually," Mushinski said. "This doesn't happen all the time," adding that she has seen three similar incidents during her nine years with the hospital.

Around 2:00 p.m. Eva Arroyo was registering patients into the emergency room located on the first floor of Ben Taub, when she heard reports that there was an active shooter in the hospital.

A code white was issued and Arroyo said she and other hospital employees immediately began sheltering in place. Nurses blocked off the doors with stretchers.

"We know we need to close the doors, windows and stay still, " Arroyo said.

She said she positioned herself by two police officers who were monitoring a patient, who is also a prisoner.

"If anything, there's two police officers out there, so I feel safe in a way, " She recalls thinking while inside.

Eventually a doctor told them it would be safer for them to evacuate outside of the hospital.

As she anxiously stood outside Ben Taub, waiting to receive updates, she said sometimes she worries about someone walking into the hospital with a gun.

"I mean who's going to see what they have under their jacket or in their briefcase?" She wondered.

While she waited, hospital employees gathered a group of emergency room patients at picnic tables.

Other hospital employees checked their phones and looked onward at the hospital, waiting to receive word on if they could go back inside.

Students at St. Marks Episcopal School in Bellaire were apparently in the hospital's cardiology unit not long before the reports of a shooting were made. Harris Health System posted on Twitter a photo and Tweet praising fifth grade students for donating artwork to the cardiology clinic.

The school would not answer a reporter's questions about whether the students were still at the hospital when the building was locked down.

By about 3:45 p.m., at least three patients had been transferred by ambulance to other hospitals as other patients wandered around outside.

Baylor College of Medicine's security department issued an emergency notification of an "active shooter situation" about 2:15 p.m. The notification instructed college employees not to go to Ben Taub and ordered those already there to follow emergency response guidelines.

The last shooting at Ben Taub happened in October 2016, when an officer shot an inmate who had taken a medical student hostage.

Ricky Hall, 46, was facing a parole violation and a host of new charges when he was shot by a sheriff's deputy after he took up an "edged weapon," according to Chronicle archives.

Days before his violent outburst, Hall - who struggled with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, his mother said - was taken to the hospital for treatment of seizures. Hall ultimately died from his wounds.

More recently, a gun-wielding patient was shot by off-duty sheriff's deputies after he opened fire Jan. 3 inside the North Cypress Medical Center in northwest Harris County, sending receptionists diving under their desks.

The 21-year-old gunman, whose name was not released, survived the incident after being shot multiple times, according to authorities.

Check back for more details on this developing story.