Escaped Patient Alluded to School Shootings
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There were tense moments Friday in Long Beach after a patient, who warned he might do something similar to the Littleton, Colo., school shootings, escaped from a mental hospital.
Police alerted schools shortly after Bill Griffith, 47, of Long Beach fled a local mental facility, said Police Officer David Mirander.
At least one school, Our Lady of Refuge, locked teachers and students in classrooms for an hour as a safety precaution and canceled a talent show.
Friday afternoon, Griffith was taken into custody without incident at his home and returned to the hospital.
Police initially took Griffith to the hospital Wednesday after he had been watching news of the Colorado tragedy and told an acquaintance he “felt he could do something also,” Mirander said.
After the escape, area public and parochial schools were warned to be on the lookout for the man.
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