Fountain Valley hospital nurse subdues armed man threatening security officer
Fountain Valley CA April 10 2020
A Fountain Valley hospital nurse subdued a man who fired a flare gun into the air, possessed a replica firearm and threatened violence at the facility on Wednesday, April 8, police said.
Officers received multiple calls of a possible active shooter in the parking lot of Orange Coast Medical Center, 18111 Brookhurst St., at about 11:40 a.m., Fountain Valley Police said in a news release.
A man had discharged a flare gun round into the air while making threatening statements to a security guard.
“His statements were something to the effect of: ‘I need to get help, and if I don’t, I’m going to hurt somebody,’” Fountain Valley Police Lt. Jarrod Frahm said.
The security guard involved in the incident rushed to the emergency room to notify police.
A witness who was interviewed at the scene and identified herself as J. Alvarez said guards were running toward the building while shouting “get to safety,” and “man with a weapon.”
A nurse confronted the suspect before officers arrived, Frahm said. He managed to bring the suspect down to the ground and restrain him.
The suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of making criminal threats and the negligent discharge of a firearm in a public place, police said. He was later identified as Thomas Christopher Ray, 51, of Chino. He was held in lieu of $50,000 bail Wednesday evening, inmate records show.
A flare gun and a replica firearm had been in Ray’s possession and were recovered by authorities. His girlfriend was a patient at the time of his arrest, police said. It was not immediately clear why he allegedly threatened the hospital.
“It had the makings of something potentially very serious but wound up being about a guy who was struggling,” Frahm said.
“He never made it inside the hospital,” Frahm said. “We believe it was an isolated incident. As far as we know, he never had any intention to shoot up the hospital. He was looking for some mental health help.”
No people were injured during the incident, said the director of Marketing and Communications for Orange Coast Medical Center, Sarah Mitchell.
