Crockpot, pepper spray found non-explosive after bomb threat at Penrose Hospital

The Colorado Springs Police Department press briefing has ended. The video of the press briefing is available above.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs Police Department has confirmed that there is no threat at Penrose Hospital after multiple agencies responded to a bomb threat on April, 9.

Police say the hospital received a bomb threat over the phone. The hospital staff performed a sweep of the hospital and located two suspicious devices, according to police. CommonSpirit said the threat was discovered around 9 a.m. They say hospital security called 911 around 9:15 a.m.

One of the suspicious devices was a crockpot, which was cleared, says police.

"It originally came in as potentially two devices, the crock pot that I mentioned and another suspicious device, they said. Turns out that it was just something left on a windowsill in the parking garage. I believe it was a privately owned, what I call, OC canister pepper spray. I don't know the trademark name of it, but just a simple thing like that had a button on it that looked suspicious, and just as we tell everybody, please don't touch it, call us, and let us use the appropriate equipment to determine if it is or isn't. That was also determined not to be an explosive device," said Colorado Springs Police Commander Pamela Castro.

The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) has since lifted a shelter-in-place that was for one block north of Penrose Main Hospital, between Cascade & Nevada, due to law enforcement activity near 2222 N Nevada Ave, Penrose Main.

Police say the parking garage was evacuated.

CommonSpirit confirmed to KRDO13 around 11 a.m. that Penrose Hospital was on controlled access due to the threat.

An ATF-certified explosive bomb tech did respond to the scene. The FBI also confirmed to KRDO13 that it was aware of the situation reported at Penrose Hospital. The FBI tells us it had personnel on scene assisting CSPD, the lead agency.

KRDO13 spoke with many people on scene who shared their experiences of either being inside the hospital and being asked to leave, or trying to get into the hospital and being told they could not come in. Some told KRDO13 they were not able to go in to visit family. Others, such as Tawnya Williams, were inside the hospital with family and say they were told if they left, they would not be allowed back in.

"I got a little nervous because when I got to the door, I was met with this really tall bodyguard, and he startled me because he said, 'Ma'am, you can't come back in.' I was like, what? So I was a little startled at first, but I'm hoping that there's no big problem of complications and that it's going to be resolved very quickly," explained Tawnya Williams.

The Penrose Hospital CEO said this is something they prepare for to ensure patient safety.

"It is our desire to consistently support the community with a safe hospital, and we had concerns today. Out of an abundance of caution, we took the measures to communicate with our community partners to neutralize any concerns or threats. We were really pleased to be able to continue to provide care to the community during the entire incident. We're thankful that the police were here to allow patients to come in and out of the ED even while they were assessing whether this threat was credible," said Kristi Olson, Penrose Hospital CEO.

After the threat was cleared, Olson said the staff was very relieved.

As of 12:30 p.m., police said there was no one in custody in connection with the incident.

"We're not looking for anyone. We have contacted everybody that we believe is involved in the bomb threat. The criminal investigation will determine if anything happened today that is of a criminal nature," said Commander Pamela Castro.

CommonSpirit Health released the following statement during the incident:

This morning, CommonSpirit Penrose Hospital received a bomb threat and immediately contacted police. Out of an abundance of caution, we implemented Controlled Access procedures at our facility, limiting those who can enter our building.

We are partnering with Colorado Springs Police as they conduct an investigation, and we will refer you to CSPD at this time for further information.

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