Indian River hospital worker arrested on weapons charges, sheriff says

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY −Two loaded handguns, three boxes of ammunition and 10 loaded magazines were found in the military-style bag in the emergency room work area of a hospital employee during his arrest at the facility last week, law enforcement officials said Monday.

Deputies went to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital March 7 to arrest Christopher Webb, 54, on an unrelated warrant charging him with exposure of sexual organs, according to Indian River County Sheriff's Office records.

They encountered him sitting at his desk in front of an ER room just before 11:30 a.m., according to the arrest affidavit. They asked him to speak with them outside, and when he went with them, the affidavit states he left what was described as a beige-colored tactical-style backpack sitting on his desk.

A staff supervisor brought the bag to deputies, and Webb said it was his, before they searched through its contents, finding, according to the affidavit, the guns and ammunition.

Webb told deputies he worked at the facility for over nine years, and knew that by intentionally bringing the bag into the facility, he violated hospital weapons restrictions, and that the hospital also oversees mental healthcare.

A hospital security director told deputies employees were not allowed to have firearms.

Webb was charged with introduction of a firearm into a hospital or mental health facility, and placed in jail on $15,000 bail in the afternoon March 7. He was released on bail the following day.

"The safety of our patients, visitors and caregivers is a top priority," according to a statement provided to TCPalm from Cleveland Clinic Florida. "This individual has been terminated and does not have access to the hospital. We appreciate the work of the Indian River Sheriff's (Office) and are fully cooperating with the investigation."

Hospital system spokesperson Arlene Allen-Mitchell said weapons are not permitted at any Cleveland Clinic hospital. She said campuses are staffed 24/7 with police or security personnel.

"Our emergency departments at locations including Indian River Hospital, are equipped with magnetometers," Allen-Mitchell said.

Magnetometers are similar to metal detectors but generally only identify iron-containing metals, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Most guns are made of steel and bullets are typically made of lead or copper and zinc.

Flowers said deputies first were made aware of Webb by residents near his home in the 1100 block of 34th Avenue Southwest, who reported his behavior that led to the initial exposure-related charge.

That behavior largely included multiple instances, where neighbors said they saw him walking outside his home on his porch and his yard "completely naked," Flowers said.

After his actions were caught on camera and submitted to law enforcement, he said a warrant for Webb's arrest was ordered by a judge March 1.

During a news conference Monday at the Sheriff's Office about the arrest, Flowers repeatedly said the "really strange behavior" and the amount of weaponry seized from his home and his bag at the hospital was troublesome for law enforcement.

Roughly 22 additional weapons, mostly handguns, were found at his residence, he said.

"In talking with the nursing staff at the hospital, some of them received explicit text messages, photos, strange messages from this guy," Flowers said. "If there’s somebody out there who’s been receiving those messages, we’d like to hear from you."

Webb told deputies he had the guns with him at the hospital because he wanted to "get back into shooting.”

Flowers said they inquired with a local gun range, which had no evidence of any visit from Webb.

The two weapons found at the hospital were purchased legally, and Flowers said there was nothing in Webb's background preventing him from owning weapons.

After the hospital scenario though, he said deputies requested a risk protection order − what Flowers said was enacting the red flag law − which would prevent Webb's legal purchase of any firearm.

"This is what they saw in Parkland. This is what they’ve seen in major mass shooting events," Flowers said. "I feel like we really got lucky last week that we didn’t have a major incident."

He said it's incumbent to get the information about Webb out to the community.

"... And let you know what we’ve done so far to protect the community and that he’s not allowed to have access to firearms," Flowers said. "We want people to know out there that this guy right here, we have some great concerns about, because he was doing this kind of stuff.”

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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow @coreyarwood, email corey.arwood@tcpalm.com or call 772-978-2246.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Indian River hospital worker arrested on weapons charges, sheriff says