FWPD: No Gunman Found At JPS Health Clinic
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Officials with the Fort Worth Police Department say they have been unable to find the possible gunman that sent dozens of officers, a SWAT Team and a hostage negotiator to the JPS Health Center-South Campus in Fort Worth.
As of 11:50 a.m. police were searching the South Campus clinic room-to-room, but the majority of the scene in the 2500 block of Circle Drive had cleared.
At 10:30 a.m. Fort Worth Police Department Lt. Henderson said there were "a number of employees" inside the building. "They [the employees] have been sheltered in place. They've locked down in place. We're in contact with them. We know where they're at. There have no reports of any shooting or any injuries," he explained.
About 15 minutes later police began taking employees out of the building in handcuffs. Authorities had each individual in handcuffs to ensure their safety and also as a precaution in case one of the people inside is the suspect they're looking for.
Police took the people from the clinic to the Worth Baptist Church, just southeast of the clinic, on Campus and Raymond Barber. Authorities have a list of the people that were supposed to be inside the clinic and cross referenced that with the individuals removed from the building.
All of those people were later verified as having business in the clinic and were taken to police headquarters for counseling/debriefing.
Fort Worth SWAT was deployed and more than dozen JPS Police and FWPD squad cars were called to the scene and the parking lot surrounding the clinic was evacuated.
According to Lt. Henderson, an employee at the clinic thought they saw a man with a gun just before 8 a.m. The employee left the scene and contacted police. "When we were called and when we responded we immediately set a perimeter and since we set that perimeter up there has been no one, fitting the possible description, seen leaving the building," Lt. Henderson explained.
As a precaution the New Lives School, in the 1500 block of Circle Drive was put on lockdown. New Lives is an alternative school and while authorities say there was no direct threat to the school they wanted to keep everyone inside.
Nearby O.D. Wyatt High School and Clifford Davis Elementary weren't placed on lockdown, but were instructed to lock their doors.
The South Campus clinic offers medical services for the southern region of Fort Worth, including pediatric and women's services. The clinic will remain closed for rest of the day.
