Health minister says incident at new mental health centre is part of 'teething problems'
A 40-year-old man was arrested on Monday afternoon
Interim Health Minister John Haggie is downplaying Monday's incident at the new Mental Health and Addictions Centre in St. John's as a "teething problem."
A 40-year-old was arrested Monday afternoon and is facing mischief charges after people in surrounding buildings were asked to shelter in place for almost an hour.
The incident happened just one day after the new mental health hospital opened its doors, replacing the aging Waterford Hospital.
"I think it's kind of a coincidence," Haggie told reporters after the House of Assembly concluded Monday afternoon.
"Some of the people in the … new mental health facility, their behaviours are unusual, and I think that may have started this off."
Shortly after 1 p.m. NT on Monday, the Memorial University issued a shelter order for the area surrounding the Health Sciences Centre, its medical school and the Animal Resources Centre.
"Officers located the man responsible, who was not in possession of a weapon, at his home without incident around 1:45 p.m.," reads a statement from RNC spokesperson Danielle Barron.
The unidentified man is being held in custody pending a court appearance, she said.
Barron says the shelter order was issued by the facility, not the police, but police were investigating a threat complaint at the new mental health facility.
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With files from Jenna Head