Update: Reports of Armed Person Near City Hall Deemed 'False Alarm'

With a pistol and AR-15 semiautomatic rifle drawn, sheriff's deputies were seen surveying the perimeter of City Hall shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday afternoon after reports were received of a person armed with a firearm in the area.

"We just had reports of somebody with a weapon in the area," said Public Safety Department Director Tom Clark, seemingly in a rush to get answers before the start of a once-a-season community workshop.

The workshop proceeded as scheduled at 6 p.m. and included the Imperial Beach City Council and heads of every department in the city as well as Imperial Beach sheriff's station commanding officer Lt. Mark Ryan.

Around 6:20 p.m., Clark told IB Patch the report seemed to be a "false alarm."

"That was a big nothing," said Sgt. William Uelan. "It was a deputy carrying his firearm into the locker room and thats all it was. No other armed suspicious people than a deputy coming on shift."

The civilian who called 911 to report the armed person was concerned because the person they saw approach the substation was not wearing a uniform, said Lt. Mark Ryan.

The Civic Center in the 800 block of Imperial Beach Boulevard includes City Hall, the sheriff's substation and Imperial Beach Fire Department.