Police officers fatally shot a mental health patient outside of Mount Carmel St. Ann's hospital in Westerville, Ohio, on Thursday afternoon, according to a WKBN report.
Westerville medics asked Columbus police to help them transport a mental health patient to the acute care hospital about 1 p.m. on Thursday. Police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said officers followed the ambulance to the hospital, according to the report.
Police say when the patient stepped out of the back of the ambulance outside of the hospital he was carrying a garbage bag. When he saw a police officer, the man took out what authorities believed to be a gun, and police shot him after he ignored their orders to drop it. The weapon the man was wielding turned out to be a BB gun.
The man was taken to St. Ann's emergency room, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
According to a statement from St. Ann's, no patients or hospital employees were involved or injured in the incident. "We are doing everything we can to assist the police with their investigation and to provide support and care to patients, families, visitors and colleagues. Our first priority is always their safety," the hospital said.
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