A man being chased by police Wednesday night (Aug. 15) allegedly called in a fake report about an active shooter at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City in an attempt to take attention off him, authorities reported.
The chase ended in Red Bud, Ill., where the suspect, a 33-year-old West Virginia man, was arrested, Crystal City Police Capt. Mike Pruneau said.
The incident began about 9 p.m. at the circle driveway in front of Crystal City Elementary School, 1100 Mississippi Ave., he said.
“An officer responding to an alarm at Crystal City Elementary saw a man at a 2018 Nissan Rogue SUV with the hatch up,” Pruneau said. “As the officer approached, the suspect jumped into the SUV and took off down Mississippi (Avenue). The officer pursued the SUV up to (I-255) and Koch Road (near the Jefferson Barracks Memorial Arch Bridge in St. Louis County).”
The suspect continued driving across the bridge into Illinois, and Illinois law enforcement took over the pursuit. The suspect eventually was taken into custody in Red Bud, Pruneau said.
He said he didn’t know anything else about the arrest, except that the suspect was later taken to St. Anthony’s Medical Center in south St. Louis County for psychological evaluation.
“While the suspect was involved in the (police) pursuit, he called the (Mercy Jefferson) hospital saying he spotted an active shooter on the hospital parking lot,” Pruneau said.
He said the suspect probably called the hospital directly because 911 Dispatch could have more easily traced the call back to him.
Pruneau said today (Aug. 16) that the suspect admitted to making the fake call after he was caught in Red Bud.
Mercy Jefferson spokesman John Winkelman said the hospital immediately snapped into its emergency response procedure upon receiving the suspect’s phone call.
“About 9:15 a suspect who was involved in a pursuit by police called the switchboard to report an armed gunman on the hospital parking lot,” Winkelman said. “Our switchboard called the Crystal City Police.”
He said since visiting hours at the hospital ended at 9 p.m., the hospital already was basically “locked down” for the night.
Winkelman said the hospital had 142 overnight patients, plus staff and an undetermined number of patients in the emergency department when the call came in.
“Our staff responded as trained,” he said. “We were locked down. They handled it very well. We will have a debriefing meeting (Friday), but it all went quite well.”
Pruneau said no one was injured at the hospital or during the police chase.
Crystal City School District Superintendent Philip Harrison said no one broke into Crystal Elementary Wednesday night, adding that any number of factors could have set off the alarm.
Pruneau said Festus Police sought the suspect earlier on Wednesday for allegedly violating an ex parte order and making suicidal statements.
He said Crystal City Police will seek charges against the suspect for numerous traffic violations, resisting arrest and making a terroristic threat.
Crystal City Police got assistance from Festus Police, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Pruneau said.