TAVARES, Fla. — A lockdown at Florida Waterman Hospital in Tavares on Tuesday was the result of a communication mixup, authorities said.
Authorities said an employee reported seeing a man with a gun in the hospital, so he alerted security, and the hospital was placed on lockdown.
Photos: Gun scare at Florida Waterman Hospital
Tavares police and Lake County deputies searched the building floor by floor, looking for the gunman, but they never found him.
After about an hour, the lockdown was lifted. It was discovered later that the person who walked into the hospital with the holstered gun was a Lake County deputy from the Fugitive Apprehension Unit.
The deputy was in uniform, but the unit's attire isn’t the typical Lake County deputy uniform, which authorities said led to the confusion.
Those who didn't know the details were frightened by the experience.
"It was an emergency lockdown and there was a gunman on the loose, and they had to lock us down," witness Tina Bogelpohl said.
"They shut the lights off, closed all the curtains and closed all the doors," witness Linda Cowan said.
Although it was a scary situation, some witnesses said they were happy to see hospital and law enforcement act so quickly.
Officials said the deputy won't face any sanctions because he had his full approved uniform on and didn't violate any Sheriff's Office policies.
WFTV
