An erroneous report of gunfire at SF General sent an estimated 100 cops to rushing the hospital, in an panic that a spokesperson has described as "a false alarm in the Internet age."

At 1:29 yesterday, UCSF, which is affiliated with SF General, breathlessly announced "BREAKING: Reports of shots fired at SFGH Bldg 1, Floors 3&4. If onsite, lock all doors & stay out of sight. SFPD doing room-to-room search."

An email bulletin sent by UCSF's "WarnMe" system reiterated the warning, saying "If you are there, lock all access doors and stay out of sight or escape if it is safe to do so. All others avoid the area."

According to SFPD spokesperson Officer Albie Esparza, at 12:47, reports of shots fired sent an “immense” SFPD response to the hospital.

"There were probably 100 cops out here," an on-site construction worker told the Chron.

Officers evacuated three buildings of SF General, but could find “no physical evidence of shots fired,” Esparza said. He said only one person heard the shot and that person was the only one who saw a suspect.

SF General spokesperson Rachael Kagan was dismissive of the panic, telling CBS at around 2 PM Wednesday that “It’s a false alarm in the Internet age...there was a loud noise reported at one of our buildings on campus and it was investigated."

"Apparently, rumors began spreading and they spread to the Internet and got a little bit out of control,” Kagan said, failing to acknowledge that the rumors appeared to come from UCSF, her hospital's affiliate.

Despite Kagan's words, UCSF's twitter account continued to perpetuate the shooting myth, at 5:31 tweeting a possible suspect description and reporting that the imaginary shooter might have fled across 22nd Street.

Meanwhile, back in reality, Kagan tells the Chron that it's believed that the loud sound that started this whole mess just might have been construction noise. As San Francisco General is presently involved in a massive rebuilding, that seems more than likely.