A mishap in installing a hand sanitizer dispenser at an Emporia hospital leads to a false active shooter alert.

The incident happened last Thursday afternoon as crews were installing hand sanitizer dispensers at Newman Regional Health in Emporia. One of the dispensers was located about 5 inches away from an active shooter alarm. The devices are located throughout the health care facility and resemble fire alarms. Something that occurred during the installation process triggered one of the alarms, sending out an automated message about an active shooter to hospital employees and to students at Emporia State University.

Emporia Police responded to the scene and both locations were placed under lockdown for about two-and-a-half hours. No threat was found and it was discovered that the message had been sent in error.