False alarm: Active shooter drill underway at Naval Hospital Beaufort
Despite alarming dispatch chatter, police confirmed reports of an active shooter Thursday morning at the Naval Hospital Beaufort were part of a planned training exercise.
The U.S. Navy Police and hospital staff were holding a “simulated Active Shooter Exercise” Thursday morning at the complex in Port Royal, the hospital said on Facebook.
Residents with police dispatch apps received a notification of a supposed active shooter report at the hospital around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Capt. Norman McCown of the Port Royal Police Department confirmed the dispatch audio was related to the training exercise.
The PRPD was taking part in the training to simulate a response from local law enforcement, McCown said.
Law enforcement vehicles and ambulances with flashing lights were seen at the hospital Thursday morning. The hospital advised residents to “not be alarmed by the events you may see or hear.”
The 127-acre Naval Hospital Beaufort is located at 1 Pinckney Blvd. in Port Royal. Commissioned in 1949, the hospital, a stand-alone fenced medical campus that is not part of a larger military base, is one of only a handful of its kind in the nation.
The hospital serves Marines at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in Port Royal and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort as well as thousands of local veterans. The facilities are visible from busy Ribaut Road. The Beaufort River flows behind the campus.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 11:26 AM.
