Man charged after incident sparks Robina Hospital put on lockdown

A man has been charged by police after an incident allegedly involving a gel blaster that prompted a major hospital to go into lockdown. FULL STORY

Robina Hospital has been put on lockdown.

A man has been charged by police after an incident allegedly involving a gel blaster that prompted a major hospital to go into lockdown.

Police officers swarmed the area near Robina railway station around 11.25am on Tuesday after receiving reports of a ‘gunman’ in the area.

Nearby Robina Hospital called a ‘Code Black’ and placed the hospital and emergency department into lockdown while the police operation was underway.

Gold Coast Health said the hospital was locked down “in an abundance of caution”, with ambulance arrivals diverted away while it was in place.

Robina Hospital has been put on lockdown after reports of a potential gunman in the area. Picture: Charlton Hart

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said the man was arrested by officers about 90 minutes later and taken into custody without incident.

“Police attended the scene and searched the area locating a man just after 1pm,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said police will allege the man was found holding a gel blaster.

He has since been charged with going armed to cause fear and will appear in Southport Magistrates Court on February 28.

The lockdown at Robina Hospital was lifted at about 1pm.

“We are now returning to business as usual,” a spokesperson said. “Walk-in emergency presentations were being accepted throughout the incident.”