Man charged after flare gun fire at hospital
HUNTINGTON WV Nov 7 2017 – A Huntington man was jailed over the weekend after police alleged his flare gun sparked a fire at an area hospital.
The man was jailed at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Huntington police charged him with the misdemeanor possession of a deadly weapon at an education facility and a $10,000 cash-only bond was set by a Cabell County magistrate.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Cabell County Magistrate Court, the man attempted to enter St. Mary’s Medical Center on Oct. 31, but was asked to leave after hospital security found him to be in possession of three flare shell caps. Later on the same day, security found the man leaving a ‘quiet room’ on the hospital’s fourth floor.
Two days later the Huntington Fire Department responded to a fire alarm indicating there was a fire on the fourth floor of the hospital. A woman told police she had entered the ‘quiet room’ and was moving a chair when she heard a loud bang.
Upon investigation, Huntington police detective and arson investigator Chris Sperry found an Orion brand flare gun had been placed next to a chair leg. When the woman went to move the chair, the gun’s trigger was struck, which caused it to discharge. The projectile exited the barrel, struck a wall and bounced back onto the floor, which caused a small fire.
The floor was damaged from the heat and fire caused from the discharged flare.
A female employee was treated in the hospital’s emergency room for breathing difficulties due to smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported.
According to West Virginia statute, “It is unlawful for a person to possess a firearm or other deadly weapon on a school bus (…), or in or on a public primary or secondary education building, structure, facility or grounds.”
The medical center hosts several heath care profession schools at its main property.
