Man, 20, Accused Of Squirting His Blood On Nurses At Mercy Hospital
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 20-year-old Rochester man is accused of using a syringe to squirt his own blood on nurses along with other crimes, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
Keagan Lee Johnson-Lloyd faces charges of three counts of terroristic threats and one count of false imprisonment in connection to the Sunday, May 17 incident.
According to the criminal complaint, Coon Rapids police responded to afternoon call from Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids concerning a patient on the fifth floor secure unit, which is for mental health and chemical dependency patients. The call reported the patient had gotten a syringe and was making threats to the staff.
The patient, identified as Johnson-Lloyd, was allegedly using the syringe to squirt his blood on the nurses and, at one point, held a woman on an elevator against her will.
Hospital staff told police Johnson-Lloyd had a visitor shortly that before the incident who they believe gave him the syringe. They believe the syringe had been loaded with his drug of choice, heroin.
After the guest left, Johnson-Lloyd's conduct escalated and he first tried to leave the secured floor by accessing the elevator, the complaint said. At that point, a woman was arriving from the elevator for a visit. Johnson-Lloyd entered the elevator and blocked her in using his body. After some time, however, the woman was able to distract Johnson-Lloyd and force her way by him and leave the elevator to the safety of the nurses.
Johnson-Lloyd then allegedly used the syringe to squirt his blood at nurses, sometimes hitting them in the face and body. He's also accused of trying to jab or stick nurses with the needle.
"Many of the nurses had retreated to a safety area behind protective glass but the defendant kept reloading the syringe from his own body and shooting his blood at them through the slight, open gaps in the glass used for communication," the complaint said. "The nurses were worried about their health from the exposed blood given the defendant's history as noted in his medical records."
One nurse, who got blood in his eyes from the incident, told police he was nervous and scared due to Johnson-Lloyd's medical history.
If convicted, Johnson-Lloyd could face up to five years in prison per terroristic threats charge and up to three years in prison for the false imprisonment charge.