By Joe Depriest, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Feb. 22–Officials at Gaston Memorial Hospital have launched a probe into the stabbings of two employees Wednesday night.
A 15-year-old psychiatric patient has been charged in the incident.
Hospital technician Kelly Maureen Loepp was in fair condition Thursday at Carolinas Medical Center.
“Our staff was shocked at these tragic events,” said hospital spokeswoman Laura Poloniewicz. “The hospital’s senior administrative team is investigating and analyzing everything for a better understanding of what happened and to ensure the safety of employees and visitors. This is the first time anything like this has happened.”
Gastonia authorities said Loepp was making the rounds in patient rooms on the hospital’s seventh-floor psychiatric wing about 8:45 p.m. when the teen stabbed her multiple times in the neck with a pair of scissors.
Authorities said it’s unclear how the patient, who had been involuntarily committed from Monroe, got the scissors.
“During the attack the technician (Loepp) pressed an alarm button and tried to get help,” said Gastonia Police Sgt. Gene Weaver. “The nurse came in and he (suspect) attacked her. After a struggle, he was able to get out of the psychiatric ward to the elevator.”
Registered nurse Rolanda Turner was treated for stab wounds and released.
Weaver said officers with a K-9 unit caught the suspect on Summit Crossing Place on the west side of the hospital a short time later. Hospital officials said the arrest took place about 20 minutes after the attack.
The 15-year-old was taken to the juvenile detention in Dallas. After a mental evaluation, he was charged on Thursday with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, West said.
Poloniewicz said security guards patrol the hospital floors and that each unit has varying levels of security. Surveillance video cameras monitor every floor along with the parking lot and parking deck.
“All normal procedures were in place,” Poloniewicz said. “We’re hoping the investigation will tell us what we have to do different in the future to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
—–
To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotte.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Comments