A patient at Barnes-Jewish Hospital was shot and killed by security guards after refusing to drop two knives.
The 46-year-old patient was in a treatment room with his wife Thursday morning prior to the shooting, according to St. Louis Police Lt. Col. Rochelle D. Jones. Officials say the man was there to see a doctor but would not say what he was being treated for.
The man emerged from his room on the fourteenth floor at approximately 10:30 a.m. and pulled two knives out of his pockets, reports St. Louis Today.
Two security guards arrived at the scene and immediately ordered the man to drop the weapons. When he refused, both officers fired multiple shots. He died at the scene.
Police described the patient as “flourishing” the weapons. It is unclear whether he was threatening the guards or how close he was to them when he was shot.
“He refused to put the knives down, so, they had to take action,” says Jones. “You have to act within a moment’s notice, it’s all based on what you see. Do you see a knife, a gun? It’s just a few seconds to make a decision that will impact your life.”
The man’s name or a possible motive have not been released.
Kara Price Shannon, a spokeswoman for the hospital, says the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is handling the investigation, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital, which is located on the same campus, was placed on temporary lockdown as a precaution, says Children’s spokeswoman Laura High. The lockdown was lifted at approximately 11:20 a.m.
Barnes-Jewish Hospital is located in the Center for Advanced Medicine, which also houses the Siteman Cancer Center and other medical offices. It is the largest hospital in the state of Missouri and is the adult teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine.
