Lincoln Police Chief Joe Meister
Bomb Threat at Lincoln Memorial Hospital "Swatting" hoax - no threat found

 

[April 26, 2024] 

On April 26"’, 2024 at approximately 12:30pm, Lincoln Police Officers were dispatched to the Lincoln Memorial Hospital, 200 Stahlhut Drive, for a bomb threat. The suspect reported that they were at the scene armed with a firearm, waiting for police to arrive.

Lincoln Police and Logan County Sheriff’s Deputies responded and secured the scene without locating any suspect(s) matching the description given. The building was secured and searched by dogs trained in explosives detection. At approximately 2:35pm, the scene was cleared without locating any evidence of explosives on the property. This appears to have been a ‘swatting” call and no verified threat to the public exists at this time.

(Swatting is a prank call made to authorities with the express purpose of luring them to a location – usually a home – where they are led to believe a horrific crime has been committed or is in progress. This results in a forceful response from local police or SWAT teams, who have no way to know the call is a hoax.)

The investigation is ongoing. Due to the sensitivity of the investigation, no further details will be released at this time.

Participating Agencies: Lincoln Police Department, Logan County Sheriff s Department, Lincoln Fire Department, Logan County Paramedics Association, Logan County Emergency Management Agency, Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Illinois Secretary of State Police, Illinois Secretary of State Police — Bomb Squad, Springfield Police Department and the Illinois Conservation Police.

Joseph Meister
Chief of Police
Lincoln Police Department