Prosecutors determined that no crime had been committed, after a threat of gun violence made by man against Bartlett Regional Hospital caused the facility to lock down on Thursday.
“JPD consulted with state and local prosecutors about possible criminal charges, but it was determined that no crime had been committed,” said Juneau Police Department Lt. Krag Campbell in a news release. “We discussed the crime of terroristic threatening, which covers similar actions. To charge someone with a crime, specific elements of the offense need to be met, or committed. After gathering all the details and discussing it, it was determined that those elements had not been met.”
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The identity of the man was not released, Campbell said, as it’s JPD’s policy not to release the name of someone who’s not charged with a crime.
In the JPD’s initial report, the person making the threat, a 56-year-old man, said that he wanted to get a gun and shoot hospital staff at around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, Campbell said. The comments were made in a downtown area. Patrol officers began searching for the individual, while additional officers bolstered security at the hospital.
“The person who made the threats is transient, and often frequents the warming shelter,” Campbell said. “So we concentrated our efforts in the downtown area.”
JPD officers continued to search for the man throughout the day, eventually locating him at around 9 p.m. on the 300 block of Whittier Street.
“The man was interviewed by police and it was determined the threats were not credible,” Campbell said. “The man told police that he had made the comments out of frustration he experienced with a recent visit to the emergency department.”
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
