Bellingham police: St. Joseph Medical Center staff find explosive device on admitted patient

Bellingham police officers responded to the St. Joseph Medical Center on Wednesday evening after hospital staff located a small improvised explosive device in the jacket pocket of an admitted patient, according to Megan Peters with the Bellingham Police Department.

Hospital staff removed the device from the building before officers arrived.

Officers established a safety perimeter around the device until Bellingham Police Department’s Hazardous Device Unit (HDU) could respond to secure the device, according to Peters.

“Responding officers felt it was appropriate to not handle the improvised explosive device due to safety concerns and contacted HDU, whose members have training and gear to safely deal with explosive devices,” Peters said in a statement to The Bellingham Herald.

An investigator secured the explosive device in a container designed to protect a person from shrapnel or fumes that could discharge if the device were to detonate, Peters told The Herald.

The patient told police and hospital staff the device was used to scare coyotes off their property. The patient said they grabbed the jacket with the explosive in their pocket in a hurry to get to the hospital, according to Peters.

Criminal charges had not been filed against the patient as of Thursday afternoon but charges for reckless endangerment were sent to the prosecutor’s office for review.

Peters declined to identify the patient until a decision is made about whether to file charges.

The Bellingham Police Department shared an Instagram post about the incident “to remind people to be responsible with their firearms and explosive devices,” Peters told The Herald.

“When firearms and explosive devices are not being used, they should be appropriately secured. People should not forget where potentially harmful devices are, so they don’t inadvertently bring them where they don’t intend to,” Peters said.