Everyone is safe at a Connecticut nursing facility following a bomb scare Tuesday, but officials at the center said they have learned from the matter and are establishing new lockdown procedures.
A 67-year-old employee stormed out of a contentious union meeting about a possible strike vote, telling onlookers, “I’m wearing a vest and I am about to push the button.” Patrick Shepherd then left, but the facility, Touchpoints at Manchester, promptly locked down its top floors and kept the first level open for police.
Officials did not issue an order to shelter in place, though some law enforcement may have made such a recommendation to individual residents, the Journal Inquirer reported Thursday.
Police responded to the scene and eventually detained Shepherd, finding no weapons on his person or in his vehicle. He’s been charged with first-degree threatening and breach of peace. Shepherd insisted that he was only making an analogy and had no intent to harm anyone.
The 131-bed skilled nursing and rehab facility is working to establish new lockdown procedures following the ordeal. Administrator Patrick Neagle and the facility’s parent company, the iCare Health Network, did not immediately respond to a McKnight’s request for comment Thursday.
