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Hospital That Treated PP Victims Was On Lockdown

by Celia Darrough

On Monday afternoon, the location where several Planned Parenthood shooting victims were being treated, Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, was put on lockdown, Reuters reported. According to local news station KRDO, no one is being allowed in or out of the building. KRDO reports that initial information says the lockdown was caused by the presence of a "suspicious person," but that there's no current evidence that the lockdown is related to the shooting at Planned Parenthood on Friday that left three people dead and nine injured. Update: At around 12:45 p.m. local time, the lockdown at Penrose Hospital was lifted after a "security concern." The hospital tweeted, "CSPD responded and the situation was resolved. Everyone is safe."

Penrose Hospital was where six patients were taken after the deadly shooting; four victims were sent to Memorial Hospital. According to FOX 21, employees from various hospital departments, including the ICU, trauma, and the operating room, volunteered to come in to help in the emergency room. But Penrose employees were ready. Dr. Rick Pionkowski told FOX 21, "It was actually comforting to know that things were going well. And you can see around, when you looked around through the department, everybody was ready."

The Planned Parenthood shooting suspect, Robert Lewis Dear, is expected to appear in court Monday afternoon via video. He faces charges of first-degree murder for the deaths of Officer Garrett Swasey, Jennifer Markovsky, and Ke'Arre Stewart.