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Threats of violence at VA hospital a hoax

Healthcare Security Weekly, April 30, 2007

Security was tightened at the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center on April 24 after several broadcast news outlets received e-mails early that morning alluding to a plan to attack people at the hospital, reported the North County Times.

The threats of violence prompted intensified security patrols at the hospital complex, but no service interruptions, authorities reported. One of the news stations forwarded the menacing e-mail message to the San Diego Police Department, which responded by sending personnel to the medical center to bolster its in-house security department, the newspaper reported. Police notified the FBI, which took over the investigation, and within a few hours determined the threat was a hoax, according to a hospital spokesman.

The message reportedly threatened the "deadliest shooting in VA history." Since the Virginia Tech massacre, law enforcement officials say threats have become a serious drain on their resources.

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