Six fully-outfitted emergency response team officers escorted Millhaven Institution inmate Corey Ryan Ward into a Kingston courtroom on Tuesday to answer to his charges.
The court handed Ward, 32, nine charges in relation to a shooting at Kingston General Hospital on Monday evening.
The federal inmate was charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of discharging a weapon with intent, one count of aggravated assault, one count of disarming a peace officer and one count of possession of a weapon.
Ward was denied bail and will remain in custody at Millhaven Institution.
The inmate asked to apply for a 30-day psychiatric assessment, saying that he was off his medication on Monday evening, and that he had attempted suicide not long before the incident at Kingston General Hospital.
He will appear in court again in mid-December.
The night of the shooting
Kingston police rushed to Kingston General Hospital on Monday evening after two shots were fired in the emergency department, according to Det.-Sgt. Jay Finn, leaving one person with serious injuries.
Finn said an inmate from Millhaven Institution, later identified as Corey Ward, was brought to the hospital’s emergency room for medical reasons. At some point a struggle ensued between a correctional officer and the inmate. According to Finn, the inmate grabbed the officer’s gun and two shots were fired — one person waiting in the emergency area was shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
WATCH: Officials from Correctional Service Canada and Kingston General Hospital speak to hospital shooting
According to a police news release put out on Tuesday morning, Ward was in in leg restraints with his arms handcuffed in front when he was transported to Kingston General Hospital. Police say at one point, the handcuffs were removed to allow the inmate to use the washroom.
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When Ward left the washroom, before he could be handcuffed again, he allegedly reached out and grabbed a correctional officer’s firearm, pulling it from the holster.
Police say the officers reacted immediately and were able to keep the gun pointed down while they brought Ward to the ground.
According to the release, during the struggle on the ground the firearm was discharged and police believe the bullet traveled near the floor, striking the bystander in a lower extremity. The victim was rushed into surgery to deal with the wound.
According to police, a second round went off while the officers continued to struggle with Ward, and the bullet struck a wall.
Correctional officers who were at the hospital with another inmate responded to the incident and police say they were able to help detain Ward.
Finn said the incident happened sometime after 6 p.m. on Monday evening. Some parts of the emergency room were closed due to the incident but were quickly reopened when the inmate was detained.
Finn gave a lot of credit to the correctional officers who came with the inmate as well as security officials at the hospital who were able to deal with the incident quickly.
WATCH: One person shot at Kingston General Hospital, inmate in custody
“We were able to restrain the inmate and disarm him in a very quick manner. The medical staff was able to treat the injured person in a very quick manner and no loss of life has occurred as a result of this incident,” Finn said.
Kingston Health Sciences Centre provided a statement on the incident. In the statement, president and CEO David Pichora said the incident resulted in a “code silver” at the hospital, which is called when an individual at the hospital is “in possession of a weapon, and an enhanced police presence is required.”
Doctor at Kingston hospital on various emergency code responses
The statement added that social workers have been brought in to provide counselling for patients, families and staff.
The hospital says it will review the incident during a debrief session with staff and senior management as soon as possible.
-With files from Mike Postovit.
https://twitter.com/kp_beatcop/status/1064669958561513472
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.
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