Man shoots, kills self in Mercy hospital restroom

A 66-year-old man shot and killed himself with a pistol this morning at Mercy Medical Center in Redding.

Redding police officers headed to Mercy after the shooting in the emergency room lobby restroom was reported at 10:52 a.m.

Despite attempts by the emergency room staff to save him, the man succumbed to his injuries, said Sgt. Jay Guterding with Redding Police Department.

He said the man had been in the lobby for less than 20 minutes before killing himself and likely wasn't seeking care at the hospital. The man, whose identity is being withheld until the Shasta County Coroner's Office notifies his family, was not a current patient at the hospital.

Guterding said he didn't know where the man was from, why he came to Mercy or why he chose to shoot himself at Mercy.

"They didn't advise us he was acting strangely," Guterding said. "It looked like nothing alarming, no bizarre behavior." Guterding said he didn't know whether the man had been a patient at Mercy in the past.

The hospital evacuated employees and visitors from the lobby while medical personnel began performing life saving efforts on the man him.

The pistol was recovered by a security guard, the hospital reported.

Hospital spokeswoman Heather Nichols would not comment on the incident other than to say the emergency room remains open.

Guterding said the law doesn't forbid licensed individuals from bringing guns into a hospital.

"It's no different than any other building that's open to the public. There's no metal detectors at a lot of public buildings," he said.

Guterding said a suicide in such a public place occasionally happens.

"I have seen this happen throughout my career from time to time. It's not completely unusual, but it's very rare," he said.

"It's an unfortunate act. We're glad nobody else was hurt, and we wish the gentleman would have sought intervention before resorting (to suicide)."