SAN FRANCISCO, CA – News of an explosive device in San Francisco General Hospital June 6 proved more than an empty threat, as police discovered when they answered a call to investigate.
At the first sign of danger, the hospital staff notified sheriff’s deputies, traditionally the first source of hospital security. By the end of the day, the San Francisco Police Department, including a bomb squad, were involved in the search, which revealed two pipe bombs on the northern grounds of the hospital.
A sheriff’s deputy found the first bomb just inside a hospital fence on the 800 block of Potrero Street around 4 pm. Five hours later, police uncovered the second bomb at the end of San Bruno Ave.
The police deactivated both bombs before they could explode and arrested a Peninsula teenager who, according to San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens, is also suspected of planting another bomb on the northern hospital grounds on May 22. The suspect’s possible motives remain undisclosed. He is currently being held at San Francisco Juvenile Hall.
The hospital staff recently met with the Sheriff’s Office and the Police Department in an after-action meeting to analyze the response.
A hospital administrator said he was pleased with the behavior of all parties involved, and that no changes have been made in hospital protocol.
