KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence man accused of shooting a University Health Truman Medical Center security guard allegedly told police he'd been on a meth bender and was hallucinating before the chaos ensued.
Shawn R. Caskey, 40, is charged with two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree assault of a special victim in the incident.
On Friday, Feb. 2, police responded to the hospital just after 8:30 a.m. to assist an officer, according to court documents.
They were later notified that a security guard was shot in the emergency room and there was an active shooter situation.
An investigation revealed that the victim had responded to a room in the emergency room to assist another security officer.
As they were waiting for Caskey to gather his things and put on his shoes, a witness told police he ripped off a computer from the wall.
That's when two security guards tried to pin Caskey to the bed, but he allegedly managed to grab the victim's gun and later shoot him.
Caskey allegedly also pointed the gun directly at the second security officer, but the same security officer later managed to disarm him.
Before the shooting, another witness reported Caskey was acting rowdy with staff, even grabbing a nurse's cup and dumping out the water inside on the ground.
In an interview with police, Caskey told police, "the guy was grabbing me so I took his gun and shot the guy."
He also told them he'd been on a meth bender and was hallucinating which is what prompted him to go to the hospital.
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