Mon Valley Hospital one of five places to receive bomb threats
Mon Valley Hospital was one of five separate public places in Washington and Allegheny counties that received bomb threats Thursday night.
Officials from the hospital, which is located in Carroll Township, said someone made the threat about 9:30 p.m.
Following hospital policy, staff swept the campus upon receiving the threat. Police and other emergency agencies were called in immediately.
Searches there and at the other locations revealed no bombs.
“Patient care was not affected,” said hospital spokeswoman Alyssa Zenobi.
The threats to the other locations – St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon, Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison Township, the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh and D’s Six Pack and Dogs, a restaurant-bar in Swissvale – were reported to Allegheny County 911.
The threats occurred within a 90-minute window starting about 8 p.m.
Carroll police Chief Paul Brand said the FBI office in Speers was notified and sent someone to Mon Valley Hospital. He said his department is working with the bureau and counterparts in Allegheny County in the investigation.
Allegheny County police said the locations each received multiple calls, some of which sounded like recordings, from the same number with a Maine area code.
The calls weren’t necessarily made from that state, police added. The speaker was described as male and seemed to be the same person in each instance.
The threat against Mon Valley Hospital was made to the institution’s main operator line, Zenobi said.
She said local police and other agencies responded immediately. Patients were discharged if possible.
“We just kind of sped up their process so they could be in the comforts of their home and not in a stressful situation,” she said. The others remained in their rooms.
Firefighters blocked the driveways, but employees who were arriving for a shift change were let in if they showed identification. Ambulances were diverted to other facilities, and the campus was cleared around 11:30 p.m.
St. Clair spokesman Bob Crytzer said the hospital received a “non-specific” threat at about 9 p.m.
“Out of an abundance of caution and in keeping with established policy, St. Clair Hospital was searched and no explosive devices were found,” Crytzer added. “St. Clair worked closely with law enforcement to ensure everyone’s safety.”
He said the incident didn’t disrupt patient care. Ooperations were back to normal by 11:10 p.m.
Catherine Policicchio, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Pittsburgh, said the agency was “aware of the situation and we’re always helping our partners, and any other information would have to come from them.”