Crime & Safety
South Bay Hospital At Center Of Police Standoff
A suicidal patient who had a replica handgun prompted the standoff, police said.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Police activity at Kaiser Permanente's Santa Clara Medical Center early Tuesday morning was prompted by a suicidal patient who had a replica handgun, officers said.
A call came in at 4:49 a.m. from emergency room employees at the hospital at 700 Lawrence Expressway who reported someone talking to hospital staff about wanting to die via "suicide by cop" and the staff also reported seeing what appeared to be a handgun in the person's backpack, according to police.
Officers responded and heard "sounds of the manual manipulation of a semi-automatic handgun," and called for crisis negotiators after determining the person was alone, the department said in a news release.
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The standoff ended a couple of hours later when the person surrendered, and officers determined the handgun was "a realistic looking and functioning replica firearm," police said.
The Kaiser emergency room returned to its normal operations shortly after 7 a.m.
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Anyone who has suicidal thoughts is encouraged to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255.
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