Umbrella mistaken for possible gun sparks scare at Kirkland hospital

KIRKLAND, Wash. (KOMO) -- An umbrella sparked quite the scare at Evergreen Medical Center in Kirkland after it was mistaken for a potential weapon.

It was just before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when an employee noticed a visitor carrying a backpack that had some sort of long-handled item sticking from the top of it, says Kay Taylor with Evergreen Health. Concerned it might have been a weapon, they went back on surveillance video to try to determine what it was, only to find it was inconclusive.

"We're not sure what it is; we can't distinguish it on the videotape, but we took the highest level of concern which is an immediate lockdown," Taylor said.

The hospital released a photo from the surveillance video to the public in the efforts to identify the man and the object as patients and staff sheltered in place and Kirkland officers swept the building.

But around 10 a.m., the man in the photo recognized himself and contacted hospital security to let them know it was simply an umbrella with a handle that's shaped like a sword.

Police confirmed it was not a weapon and the lockdown was lifted.