San Francisco police on Monday afternoon shut down streets and evacuated buildings in the city's Potrero Hill neighborhood while they investigated reports of an active shooter in the area, which later turned out to be unfounded.
The investigation was centered around 350 Rhode island Street, which houses several businesses, including a Sutter Health Care Clinic. According to a spokesperson at Sutter Health, their offices were closed for lunch at the time.
SFPD later said in a tweet there was no merit to reports of an active shooter, which shut down the intersection of Rhode Island and 16th streets.
Officers were seen canvassing the area with their guns drawn.
The San Francisco Citizen app posted video which showed employees of a business in the building being evacuated after reports of a gunshot. They were told by officials: “This is not a drill...we need you to drop everything and leave!”
An employee who worked at Compass Real Estate told NBC Bay Area:
“Yeah my heart was pounding ... because it’s not a drill," the employee said, describing the evacuation.
