A tip that someone was planning to shoot a physician prompted heightened security at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital yesterday until the suspect appeared at a police station two counties away, asking for help and saying he felt suicidal, police said.
An anonymous caller contacted the Jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol about 4:30 p.m., saying a man was going to drive from Jackson County to Athens with the intent of shooting a physician at a local hospital
said Sgt. Max Norris of the Highway Patrol's Athens Post. Jackson County is about 35 miles southwest of Athens.
Law enforcement notified the hospital and nearby medical facilities and combed local roads for about 45 minutes, looking for a vehicle and suspect described by the caller, Norris said. Athens police were posted near O'Bleness.
But it turned out that Jackson police had unwittingly taken custody of the suspect. Stephen Gregory, 32, arrived at the department and requested help in getting mental health treatment because he felt suicidal, said Patrolman R. Grimes of the Jackson police.
Grimes got a shock minutes later when he called an Athens mental health facility where Gregory claimed to have been treated and was informed of the security scare.
Some of the medical facilities had gone into lock-down mode, according to a news release from the Athens Police Department, but then security returned to normal. Employees at O'Bleness answering a call last night said no one with direct knowledge of the situation was available to comment on the hospital's security measures.
The physician mentioned by the caller was not identified by name.
Norris said he had no reason to believe the caller was Gregory.
Because he said he had taken too much medication and appeared impaired, Gregory was charged with disorderly conduct in Jackson, where he remained in custody last night, Grimes said, adding that he likely would be evaluated by mental health professionals.
The news release did not name the suspect but said he has a history of mental illness, drug abuse and violence and had access to weapons.
Grimes said he searched Gregory and his vehicle and found no weapons. 17
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