Thread by @citlanx

Living w/guns & people off-their-rocker.

I was the hostage in this incident. I was on my laptop looking up the latest trends for influnza on the @CDCgov site. The waiting room was crowded/coughing & I was the only one wearing a mask, ASTM Level III.
1/
deseret.com/2005/1/26/1987…

2/ They I remember thinking when I first walked in to the waiting room, "This is not where I want to be right now" almost every seat was taken, and most everyone was coughing. A sign read, it is the flu season, if you want a mask, ask for one. No one was wearing one...

3/ I might just be the one to break the ice and more people will start wearing them when it matters most. Honestly it felt awkward, but I got the mask and put it on.

4/ While looking at the influenza charts, #Utah was trending for Jan 2005.
I noticed this 35 yr old construction looking worker come in with some x-rays in hand and he wanted to speak with Dr. Pitts. He was told to sit tight and they would see if they could make it work. He sat

5/ He sat in a chair along the same wall and a small bookcase between us. He leaned over and said. "Hey, how come you are wearing a mask?" I pointed at the sign that mentioned masks. Thinking that would be the end of it...

6/ He was nervous and informed the nurse that called the next patient and said that I shouldn't be here and why is he wearing mask? He tried to get the ladies at the desk to get Dr. Pitts to come out. They said "He would not, but that he would see you in the examination room."

7/ After a few more failed attempts to get Dr. Pitts to come out and to call everyone to my attention of being someone dangerous, it was finally my turn to go back. As I walked towards the nurse, I heard the guy say "Stop! You cannot go back there!" I thought, what is the worst

8/ thing that could happen... he is making a fool of himself and I continued walking... as we were turning a corner, I heard the nurse say. "Oh my God, he has a gun!" I turned and was looking down the barrel of what looked like a .45. inches from my nose.

9/ I followed his instructions, I put my computer bag down, and got on the ground. The first think that came to my mind... man, I am so glad I have this mask on, because I would be tasting the filthy disease ridden carpet without it.

10/ He told everyone that I had some kind of biological agent in my computer bag and that I was going to release it. He told a nurse to go out to his truck and get 'his' Sherriff's badge in the side door pocket, (which we later learned actually belonged to his brother)..

11/ It was a matter of seconds and no body was left in the building except Dr. Neal Burton, who continued to ack normal, like business as usual and dialog with the suspect... and then the guy' cell phone range... he answered it...

12/ It was his bishop... and they chatted about a truck that someone was trying to sell to him... (obviously his bishop had no idea of this guy was not needing a truck for a few years while behind bars)...

13/ Eventually Officer Perry Rose came in and started chatting with the suspect, and they played along that I was indeed the bad guy here and that the suspect had indeed saved the day... they also got the guy's brother on the phone and talked him in to handing the weapon over.

14/ In playing along with that the officers called me a succumb bag and cuffed me and took me out the back door... of course I knew what they were doing... 😜

The cost of trying to be a trend setter and wearing a surgical mask during a bad flu season.. Had I known better ➡️N95

15/ It turns out that he said that he thought he saw Arabic writing on my laptop and that I was an agent for Osama bin Laden.

The reason the suspect was there, was to confront Dr. Pitts about his father dying while under Dr. Pitts' watch. He had the X-rays as evidence to prove.

16/ Some after the fact suspect, the target with the gun was Dr. Pitts, and that either I was used to get Dr. Pitts to come out to confront... or he really was off his rocker... and I distracted his primary purpose...either way... he was off-his-rocker.