A man in his 50s shot and killed himself Sunday outside the Whittier Community Hospital emergency room, authorities said.
Whittier police officers and deputies from the Norwalk station responded about 10:30 a.m. to the hospital at 9080 Colima Road after they received reports there was a man with a gun there causing a disturbance, according to the sheriff’s department.
Whittier police Sgt. Dominic Iraldo told reporters the man was suffering a mental health crisis and his family had come with him to the hospital in an effort to get him help.
After the man shot himself, deputies from the Norwalk station tweeted, “The situation is contained. Investigation is ongoing. Please stay clear of the area.”
It’s unknown what was troubling the victim. His name was not released by authorities.
“We don’t know where he got the gun from, but we know it was in the vehicle in the parking lot,” Iraldo told the Los Angeles Times. Whittier police Lt. Elizarraras confirmed to City News Service that’s where the man got his weapon.
KNX reported that people inside had been ordered locked down, but that order was rescinded at about 12:20 p.m.