A convicted sex offender barricaded himself in a Massachusetts General Hospital bathroom and made death threats in November 2009. The incident was one of several violent episodes at the hospital that raised concerns about security protocols and staff safety.
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Now at 11, a sex offender barricades himself in the bathroom at Mass General Hospital.
Who police say he threatened to kill during the 45-minute standoff.
WBZ News at 11 starts now. A convicted sex offender is under arrest, caught inside Mass General Hospital and accused of making death threats. Good evening, I'm Lisa Hughes.
And I'm Jack Williams. It is the latest incident raising serious questions about security at one of Boston's most prestigious hospitals. Police found Francis Pelosi locked in a men's restroom. Christina Hager live outside of Mass General now. Christina, this guy was just wandering around the emergency department.
And Jack, police say he actually threatened to kill the former police chief of Chelsea. That man happens to be a security guard here at Mass General Hospital. Now it turned into a scene that ended with this man's arrest. One of Boston's premier hospitals under a cloud of bad headlines lately. It has patients wondering why here though.
That's It's the only thing, why would it be here 3 times?
And it makes you think, it could happen at any other hospital too. I think they should have metal detectors here at the main office, actually all the entrances here.
Sunday night, this level 3 sex offender, Francis Pelosi, locked himself in an ER bathroom and threatened security guards. This nearly a week after Jay Carciero, a patient at the hospital's bipolar clinic, stabbed his psychiatrist. He was shot to death by an off-duty security guard. And 5 5 days before that, yet another high-profile attack. A woman walked in on a level 3 sex offender allegedly beating a hospital employee in the bathroom.
I could hear the screams.
The problem is, is that obviously you have some, in some cases, highly charged people, emotional, uh, mentally ill, and in those settings, chances are violence is going to erupt at some point.
Security analyst Robert Siciliano says any hospital, especially an urban one, is a high-risk environment.
It's not cost-effective— for them to have a security guard for every single person that walks in through the facility. My guess is they're probably going to allocate more funds to, uh, lock things down based on the rise in violence that's been occurring.
The hospital did send out a statement saying the suspect was disorderly and uncooperative. It says no one was assaulted or harmed, but that MGH officers and Boston Police were able to take care of the situation quickly. But still, by all accounts, a frightening situation for the patients and the employees now hearing about this.
Jack. Christina, thank you very much. Across the country, hospital employees have voiced concerns that they're often targeted by violent criminals. Here in Massachusetts, the Nurses Association is pushing for stiffer penalties against people who attack healthcare workers. Meantime, that psychiatrist stabbed and seriously injured inside an MGH office building is improving tonight. Dr. Astrid Rosier is now listed in fair condition.
