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A 61-year-old man was taken into custody Monday after barricading himself with his 97-year-old mother and leaving a gun in the room, according to Albany Police. This put the hospital on lockdown.
The gun was later found to be a BB gun, according to police.
“All staff here have been briefed and are safe. All patients in the hospital here are safe,” said Albany Police spokesman Steve Smith.
The suspect is undergoing a medical evaluation along with his mother.
According to Albany Police, this all started around 2:40 pm with the first call of someone with a weapon inside.
The hospital called out “Code Silver,” a safety code for possible active shooters.
Nearby businesses such as CVS and Panera Bread closed early.
One woman, Rebecca Spenberg, said her family said goodbye to a deceased loved one when a nurse walked into the room.
“We said our goodbyes. I can’t,” he said.
At one point, police used a flashbang device outside the hospital to distract the suspect, Smith said. However, Smith wanted to clarify that the device was not used in a hospital.
The patient was being treated, police said, and no staff had harmed him. However, some outpatient appointments have been cancelled. Some critically ill patients were still allowed to be hospitalized.
“Our staff is resilient. They’ve faced many challenges over the last few years,” said Matt Markham, spokesperson for Albany Medical Center. “Tonight is another example of how hard they work and how everyone cares about each other here at Albany Medical Center.”
No charges have been filed against the suspect, according to Albany Police.
NewsChannel 13 will continue to update everything online tonight. The full report will be live on My4 at 9pm and NewsChannel 13 at 11pm.
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