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ALBANY – An armed man barricaded himself in the Albany Medical Center hospital room of his 97-year-old mother Monday afternoon, prompting a heavy police response and placing the entire facility on lockdown, police said.
Police eventually took the man, 61, into custody after using a “flash-bang” distraction grenade outside the hospital, as the department’s Emergency Services Team went into the room and took him into custody, police said.
No one was hurt throughout the incident.
Inside the room, police found what appeared to be a BB gun, police spokesman Officer Steve Smith told reporters Monday evening.
UPDATE 3/28: Albany Med standoff suspect charged; Faces felony weapons, kidnapping counts, police say
No charges had been filed as of Monday evening, Smith said. The investigation was ongoing.
“Our primary concern is getting him the medical care that he needs and getting his 97-year-old mother the care that she needs,” Smith said.
There was nothing to indicate that it was a hostage situation, Smith said.
The incident sent the entire Albany Med campus into lockdown for the duration.
The hospital has more than 600 patients on any given day and as many as a couple thousand staff across campuses, hospital spokesman Matt Markham told reporters.
Patient care continued throughout.
“Our staff is resilient,” Markham told reporters Monday evening. “They’ve faced a lot of challenges over the last couple of years, and tonight is just another example of how hard they work and how everyone really looks after each other at Albany Medical Center.”
The police response happened began at about 2:40 p.m. as dispatchers received word of a person possibly armed with a handgun on the hospital’s C-3 East, police and the hospital said.
Police soon learned through their investigation that the man had come to the hospital earlier Monday as his mother was being prepared to be transferred to another facility, Smith said.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened after that, but he barricaded himself in the room with a handgun,” Smith said.
The unit was cleared of personnel and patients and police ultimately went in with the use of the distraction device, Smith said.
With the resolution, the hospital lockdown was lifted.
“We are grateful for the quick response and professionalism of the Albany Police Department,” hospital officials wrote on Twitter. “In addition, we are thankful once again for our staff who continued providing safe care at the level that everyone expects from Albany Medical Center. We also thank our patients and visitors for their understanding and patience.”
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