Leo Vergara’s gun in hospital story is making headlines. On Sunday, Leo Vergara, 18, walked into the Sunnyside Community Hospital in Washington, where he pulled out a gun and fired several shots. Vergara, who was planning on getting killed by police fire, also injured a security guard named Jim, who was able to disarm him. The “Leo Vergara gun hospital” headline has prompted some to ask, would he be alive if he was African American?
The “Leo Vergara gun hospital” headline is splashed all over the internet tonight. On Sunday at around 4 a.m., a teenager named Leo Vergara armed with a gun, walked in a hospital in the state of Washington, reports News OXY.
According to a statement filed in court by Sunnyside Police Commander Scott Bailey, they received numerous 911 calls the moment Leo Vergara arrived at the Sunnyside Community Hospital’s waiting room and demanded to see an officer.
It has been confirmed that 18-year-old Vergara wanted to commit suicide and was looking for a law enforcer to shoot him. Upon learning that there were no officers at the hospital, Leo Vergara made his way to the emergency room and fired a gunshot.
A police department security guard named Jim, who is being hailed a hero by staff members, fought with Vergara and was able to grab the gun.
Jim revealed that during the struggle, Vergara tried to put him in a position where he would have to respond by shooting him. No one was injured by the shot, but the officer/security guard, who was determined not to kill the teen, suffered a cut on his head.
Jim received stitches at the hospital and was released. Leo Vergara fled the scene of the crime, but was located and arrested nearby about 30 minutes later. Sunnyside Community Hospital CEO John Gallagher, issued a statement where he praised Jim for his heroic actions:
“No visitors, patients or staff members were injured. Our team responded quickly and proactively. Patient and staff safety is our number one priority, and our security officer truly acted heroically in making sure our patients and our staff members were safe.”
On Monday, Leo Vergara made his first appearance in court where he again confessed to provoking officer Jim into “a suicide by cop.” Vergara is being held on $100,000 bail on suspicion of assault.
The “Leo Vergara gun hospital” story has gone viral with many people applauding Jim for keeping the staff safe and for not fatally shooting the teen.
One commentator explained that if a black teen had walked in a hospital with a gun, he would have been dead by now. While another was quick to reply by saying, the black teenager would not have made it to the hospital, he would have been gunned down in the streets.
Do you think that the “Leo Vergara gun hospital” story has something to do with race? Are these commentators right for saying that the interaction would have ended differently if the teen was black?
