Police shoot, kill man claiming to have weapon at ORMC
ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Orlando Police have identified the suspect they shot and killed early Monday morning at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Investigators say Brian Baker, 33, claimed to have a gun while being treated at the emergency room and threatened to use it several times. It was later discovered that he did not have a weapon.
FOX 35's Matt Trezza heard gunshots going off right in the middle of an interview with a patient.
"I heard those gunshots!" a person in the parking lot, shouted.
The shots were Orlando police officers shooting a Baker in the emergency room, after they thought he was about to pull a gun on them. Several patients who had been inside the ER said the staff helped get people out.
As the crisis was unfolding inside the ER, many patients came out into the parking lot, trying to make sense of what was going on. Alexis was one of them, saying she'd heard cops trying to talk the suspect down.
"We overheard the police officer talking to him, trying to calm him down.'Show us your hands,' because he told them - told everyone - he had a gun," Alexis said.
Alexis said police and hospital staff kept things together. "Everybody was calm. It wasn't panicky at all."
Police Chief John Mina also praised the hospital staff. "Once he did say he was armed, they did the right thing, notified law enforcement," Mina said, "were able to contain the scene, so I think law enforcement did a good job, in that respect."
Investigators said they found a bus ticket in Baker's pocket from West Palm Beach to Kentucky. They say he was on a layover in Orlando when he had an undisclosed medical issue and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Orlando Health issued a statement they activated a Code Silver, no patients or team members were harmed and some patients were safely relocated to secure areas in order to continue medical treatment.
"While we don't reveal specific security measures, our protocols were followed and do include weapon searches," Orlando Health said.