LOS ANGELES – A man suspected of making threatening statements about a shooting and forcing the lockdown of the Los Angeles Times building was being held Saturday for a mental health evaluation, police said.
A psychologist requested a 72-hour hold for the 28-year-old man at a hospital after he was detained Friday night, Sgt. Keith Green said. The sergeant didn’t identify the man.
The man works at a call center that rents office space in the Times building. Officer Norma Eisenman told the newspaper that after he was reprimanded by his supervisor, he gave her a pillowcase containing ammunition and told her: “I’m not afraid to shoot people, but I don’t want to go to jail.”
He also told his supervisor that he was depressed and that he carried a weapon because he felt bullied at work, Eisenman said.
Green said officers seized the ammunition and determined it belonged to the man.