Fairview Southdale Hospital lockdown: Man charged after gun threat

EDINA, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man is facing charges after a fight sparked a lockdown and SWAT team response at Fairview Southdale Hospital on Tuesday.

SWAT response at Edina hospital

The backstory:

Police swarmed the hospital along France Avenue South near Highway 62 on Tuesday afternoon for the report of a man with a gun.

The hospital was placed on lockdown and the area was blocked off as officers searched for the suspect. Later, police determined he had left the hospital and no shots had been fired.

Dig deeper:

A search warrant filed this week detailed the incident that sparked the scare: a fight between a brother and sister over the power of attorney for their mother – a patient on the eighth floor of the hospital.

The warrant then stated the man pulled a gun from the sister's waist and pointed it at her, and threatened he was "going to kill" her. The brother then dropped the gun on a table outside the hospital room and left the hospital, police said.

Man charged in hospital lockdown

What we know:

Larry Sharp, 65, is now charged with threats of violence and domestic assault.

Charges filed on Thursday state that a hospital employee heard the sister call for help and then saw Sharp holding a gun at his hip, pointed in her direction.

The charges state the employee ran from the room, yelled "gun" and called 911.

What they're saying:

Police were able to contact Sharp over the phone as he was driving away from the scene.

The charges state he admitted to getting into an argument with his sister, but police say he claimed he took her gun to "disarm her for safety reasons."

Sharp said he left the hospital to "get ahead of this." Officers later arrested him at his home in Independence, Minn.

What's next:

Sharp remains in Hennepin County Jail as of Thursday morning. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.