Mich. Man Tried to Steal Helicopter, Shoot Up Hospital to Free ‘Patients Under COVID-19 Quarantine’: Docs
Jesse McFadden allegedly wanted to “disrupt the power to the hospital, unlock the doors, and release patients under COVID-19 quarantine.”
Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty
A Michigan man allegedly threatened to shoot central dispatchers, drive to a U.S. Coast Guard Station, steal a helicopter and then shoot up a hospital in a bizarre plan to free coronavirus patients, according to court documents unsealed on Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service has filed federal gun charges against Jesse T. McFadden, a convicted felon who was in possession of a firearm. McFadden, 70, allegedly called Arenac County Central Dispatch staff on May 17 and threatened to shoot them, said Hampton Township Police Lt. Michael Wedding. He then drove to the Coast Guard station in Bay City “to steal a helicopter to further his plan to attack a police station and shoot up a local hospital,” according to the criminal complaint.
McFadden attempted to gain access to the station by punching the gate keypad and then told the dispatcher that he “wanted to disrupt the power to the hospital, unlock the doors, and release patients under COVID-19 quarantine” while he was armed with a machine gun, according to the affidavit, first reported on by researcher Seamus Hughes.
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