Police shoot man at Bakersfield Heart Hospital who fired gun at hospital door
Bakersfield CA Dec 3 2017 Two Bakersfield police officers shot a man who brought two firearms to Bakersfield Heart Hospital on Friday.
Assistant Police Chief Greg Terry said during a 10 p.m. news conference outside the hospital, located at 3001 Sillect Ave., that the department received reports from people from within the hospital at around 4:43 p.m. that a man was outside with a weapon.
Terry said that the suspect fired at a glass door near the back of the hospital — a 47-bed cardiac specialty facility dedicated to diagnosing and treating cardiovascular disease — to gain entry. However, upon meeting a hospital security guard, the suspect went back outside, at which point officers contacted him and shot him. Terry said the suspect hadn’t shot at the officers.
The man, whose name was not released, was taken to another hospital for treatment and is in stable condition, Terry said. No one else was injured and no shots were fired inside the hospital, according to the assistant chief.
“These kinds of things are very traumatic to our community and for our officers,” he said. “We’re all affected by these types of incidents.”
Terry said a rifle and a handgun were recovered. No additional information was given regarding the officer-involved shooting aspect of the case or the suspect’s reasons for being at the hospital.
The hospital was placed on lockdown for several hours as police checked for any other threats, and none were found, according to a post on the BPD Facebook page.
The Bakersfield Federal Bureau of Investigation office assisted with the case. Supervisor Jose Moreno said there were no connections to terrorism. When asked whether the FBI was called out regarding the officer-involved aspect of the shooting, Moreno declined to comment. However, he said it’s typical for the FBI to respond to shootings and other high-profile incidents.
“I want to thank BPD for the rapid response to the incident,” he said. “They encountered the shooter right away, and that made a big difference in this matter. We will be here to support the investigation as it moves forward.”
Hospital CEO Michelle Oxford said counseling will be provided to anyone who was at the hospital during the shooting.
Oxford said the hospital had never experienced that kind of situation before. However, she said the hospital does active shooter training a couple of times a year to be prepared.
Terry said he is grateful to the hospital for its support during the investigation.
“We’ve had tremendous support from staff here,” he said. “We recognize that there was significant disruption over a period of hours.”
Terry said the department will continue to keep the community in the loop about the case.
“We will do our best, as we move through this, to make sure that we communicate as much information as we can to the community so everyone can understand what occurs,” he said. “This is another way for people to recognize that these kinds of incidents can occur, and the importance of being prepared.”
The department asks that anyone with video of the incident send it to the department by emailing bpdcommunity@bakersfieldpd.us. Anyone with information can call the department at 327-7111.
bakersfield.com
