LAKE CITY, Fla. – A man was arrested Monday after he allegedly called the emergency room at HCA Florida Lake City Hospital and threatened to shoot a medical provider and the provider’s family, the Lake City Police Department said.
An officer working an off-duty detail at the hospital responded about 2:24 p.m. after hospital staff reported the threats, police said. According to the department, the man, identified as Ryan Elwain Delance, became upset after he did not receive medication he had requested while being treated in the emergency room. After leaving the hospital, Delance placed a call to the nurses station and made the threats. Multiple employees overheard the call on speaker phone and the facility went on lockdown.
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Officers obtained sworn written statements from witnesses and the victim and spoke with Delance by telephone while he remained on hold with the nurses station, police said. Investigators used caller ID information and other resources to locate Delance near 3864 U.S. Highway 441. Deputies from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office assisted in locating and taking him into custody.
Delance was arrested and taken to the Columbia County Detention Center. He was charged with making written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism, a violation of Florida Statute 790.163, police said.
“Threats of violence toward healthcare workers and innocent citizens will be taken seriously and investigated aggressively,” Chief Gerald Butler said.
He thanked the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance.