Police: Barricaded Man At Broward Health Had No Hostages, Wanted To Hurt Himself
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – It was a tense few hours at the Broward Health Medical Center after a standoff between a barricaded man and police.
Fort Lauderdale officers swarmed to the medical center Wednesday afternoon after reports of a man with a knife on the fifth floor.
The SWAT team, with gear and guns, moved in, making their way to the room.
CBS4's Silva Harapetian spoke with a woman who was on the fifth floor with her son, who's recovering from a spinal cord injury.
She was startled by the police presence.
"I'm saying, 'What's going on?' They said, 'We're not for you, we're not for you.' They opened up his blinds and they were holding up their guns and they were using like their scope to look across and you know doing the panoramic thing," said Jill Wright.
A couple from Ohio, who was with their daughter in the ICU on the other side of the hospital, had no clue what was going on.
"I had a call from a friend of hers and I didn't pick up the phone because my daughter was in pain and I was holding onto her hands. I received a text message from another friend of hers said that there's a hostage situation at Broward Hospital," said Lorie Palmer.
Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Det. Tracy Figone said they were never any hostages.
The man, a patient himself in the hospital, had threatened to hurt himself with a knife. He barricaded himself into a room and was refusing to come out. He finally gave up after negotiators spoke with him on the phone.
"We can confirm that he did attempt to hurt himself with a knife but they are superficial lacerations. We're not going to identify this patient at this time because he is being Baker Acted," Figone said.
Figone said the situation was contained to the fifth floor and the rest of the hospital was operational through the entire ordeal.
"I got the impression that the people on the staff knew what was going on, but as far as patient care, completely safe completely calm," Palmer said.
At this time, it is unclear how the man got a hold of a knife or why he was so upset.
Fort Lauderdale police are still investigating and couldn't say if charges will be filed.
