Manchester Memorial Hospital Briefly Locked Down Due to Threat Against Employee

Manchester Memorial Hospital was placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon after an employee received a threatening text messages, according to the hospital and the Manchester Police Department. 

According to Manchester Police Capt. Christopher Davis, an unidentified hospital employee received a text message on her cell phone in Spanish. The message was translated by another employee and determined to be a threat against the hospital, and the hospital was subsequently placed on lockdown around 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon. 

"Based upon what the Manchester Police Department believed was a credible threat against one of our employees," said Eric Berthel, director of corporate communications and marketing at the hospital. 

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Berthel said the hospital activated its "standard lockdown procedure," which means no one was allowed to enter or exit the hospital, which lasted for about an hour and 15 minutes. Once police determined that the message was not a credible threat the lockdown was lifted, which Berthel said occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m.

"We will continue to investigate the incident but at this time it does not appear that anyone at the hospital is or was in any imminent danger," Davis said in a statement.