Police Discover Loaded Shotgun in Ex-employee’s Truck, Averting Potential Hospital Shooting in NY
According to authorities, it appears that a potential shooting at a hospital in northern New York was potentially averted when law enforcement stopped a former employee who was found to be in possession of a loaded semi-automatic shotgun just a few blocks from the facility.
A man named Robert Thibodeau, aged 52, was apprehended by Plattsburgh police on Tuesday morning. During a routine stop of his pickup truck, authorities discovered a 12-gauge shotgun along with two 10-round magazines and a box of ammunition.
According to the Plattsburgh City Police Department, the stop was initiated based on information provided by a concerned individual.
Ex-employee: Serious Threat of Harm and Potential Mass Casualties Uncovered
The individual reported that Thibodeau, who had recently been terminated from Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, had made concerning remarks about potentially causing harm upon returning to the hospital.
According to Chief Peter Mitchell, it was revealed on Wednesday that there is a belief that Thibodeau had intentions of using the gun at the hospital.
According to Clinton County Sheriff David Favro, this incident was extremely dangerous and had the potential to result in a mass casualty situation.
“There are numerous details that will be revealed through additional investigation.“
“He had the means and the potential to cause mass casualties with his weaponry, which would have been a truly terrible situation,” Favro remarked.
Hilary Rogers, the chief assistant public defender for Clinton County, declined to provide a statement regarding the ongoing case.
The vehicle driven by Thibodeau was stopped by a patrol officer while en route to the hospital, located approximately 30 miles south of the US-Canada border. The individual in question did not immediately respond to the officer’s attempt to pull them over and did not promptly follow instructions to exit the vehicle.
According to Plattsburgh police, he was apprehended without any additional issues, with the assistance of multiple law enforcement agencies. Thibodeau pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a charge of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded firearm and was sent to jail after his arraignment.
