ROBBINSDALE, Minn. — A man scaled a fence at a Minneapolis-area hospital last month and shut off oxygen to the entire facility, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Hennepin County.
No charges have yet been filed in the Dec. 27 incident at North Memorial Hospital, and the search warrant affidavit filed Friday makes no mention of injuries. But the Star Tribune reported that the document says the situation could have been deadly under different circumstances.
"It was noted by hospital (engineers) that had the incident occurred at a time when the hospital did not have 4 engineers on that the act could have resulted in serious harm or death to patients," the affidavit said.
Hospital spokeswoman Katy Sullivan told The Associated Press on Saturday that hospital officials quickly identified the issue and resolved it without harm to patients.
According to the affidavit, after the oxygen was shut off, engineers detected a pressure drop in the hospital's oxygen levels and discovered the vandalism. A 39-year-old man has been identified as a possible suspect. He was also seen inside the hospital the previous month unplugging computers and televisions. He's also suspected of tampering with Xcel Energy meters 250 times in separate incidents.
The affidavit did not specify a possible motive.
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