FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - A man who allegedly threatened to shoot up a hospital and fired a flare gun into the air outside of a Southern California hospital was arrested Wednesday without entering the building or hurting anyone, police said.
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., the man - whose girlfriend was being treated at the hospital - walked up to an emergency room security guard at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center Hospital in Fountain Valley and demanded help, authorities said.
The man said something like: “I need some help; if I don’t get some help, I’m going to hurt somebody,” Lt. Jarrod Frahm told the Los Angeles Times.
People were interested in these podcasts
The man threatened to “shoot up the hospital” and fired a flare gun into the air, a police statement said.
The guard retreated into the hospital and called authorities.
Before officers arrived, a doctor and a nurse subdued the man, identified as Christopher Ray, 51, of Chino, police said.
Ray had a flare gun and a pellet gun, authorities said.
He apparently had been living in a recreational vehicle that was parked nearby, authorities said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.