Tauranga Hospital false alarm: Toy gun prompts brief lockdown

Tauranga Hospital was put into lockdown after a person arrived with what turned out to be a toy gun. Photo / Mead Norton

Tauranga Hospital was briefly put into lockdown this afternoon after a man arrived with what appeared to be a firearm but turned out to be a toy gun.

Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty Tauranga Hospital operations manager Julie Williams said at about 1.20pm today a man was seen walking into the hospital grounds with what appeared to be a firearm.

Williams said lockdown procedures were “immediately initiated” and police were called.

However, Williams said it became apparent that the man, who had a legitimate appointment at the hospital, was in fact carrying a toy firearm.

Police spoke with the man and determined there was no threat to the public, she said, and lockdown measures were lifted as soon as the police stated it was safe to do so.

“The incident lasted a little over 10 minutes. We apologise for any inconvenience to those patients who were temporarily unable to access the hospital. Any report of this nature has to be taken seriously and we would like to thank the police for responding so quickly and confirming there was no threat.”

A St John Ambulance spokesperson confirmed ambulances were alerted to avoid the hospital during the incident, but this instruction was lifted after it was confirmed to be a false alarm.

Police told the Bay of Plenty Times the incident related to a toy gun being seen near the hospital.

Police were notified of an incident near the hospital at 1.45pm. Photo / George Novak

“It was brought to police attention about 1.45pm,” a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the incident was resolved very soon after.