A false bomb threat at the Shands at AGH emergency room Sunday put the hospital on lockdown for about 30 minutes.
At about 1 p.m., a man entered the emergency room and told the receptionist he needed treatment and had a bomb, said Gainesville Police Lt. Larry Seale, who arrived on the scene after the threat.
Seale said the man, who appeared to be in his 40s, was wearing loose-fitting clothes, which may have led the receptionist to believe his claim.
Redonna Gelstee, who was waiting outside the hospital, said the man had also told her niece his medicine was not working and if no one helped him he would detonate the bomb.
Seale said the man, whose name was not released, had been prescribed medication at the hospital before.
When GPD officers arrived, they took the man into custody for mental treatment, Seale said.
The man was not arrested, Seale said.
No one was allowed in or out while hospital security and about eight officers searched the building for any possible threat, he said.
