Gun-Wielding Man Shoots Down Door to Enter Reston Hospital

A man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound fired a gun to break through a glass door to Reston Hospital Center’s Pavilion entrance early Wednesday, Fairfax County Police said. Once inside, he fired another shot in the direction of hospital staff.

Fairfax County Police responded to the call about 1:30 a.m. after a 53-year-old Loudoun County man with an apparent gunshot wound to the upper body couldn’t get into the hospital and fired a shot to get in, police said.

Police spokesman Don Gotthardt said the man attempted to gain entry to the hospital, but found the doors locked.

“He gets out of his car in front of the hospital and attempts to gain entry to the hospital,” Gotthardt told WTOP. “He found the doors locked, so he apparently fires a bullet, a round at the glass doors, breaks the doors, gains entry into the hospital.”

“Once inside, he encounters hospital personnel, who immediately realize he’s in need of medical attention. When they go to render aid, he displays a handgun again and fires another bullet inside the hospital. Fortunately, that did not hit anyone.”

Hospital security then convinced the man to give up his handgun.

Police said the man was then stabilized and taken to another hospital for treatment and evaluation.

The man had tried to get into the Pavilion entrance to the hospital, not the emergency room entrance. Emergency room doors are accessible at all hours.

The police investigation is continuing, and the man has not been charged, police said. There is no threat to public safety.