Salem Hospital locked down Sunday after man pointed handgun at security guard

An “agitated” man pointed a handgun at a Salem Hospital security worker Sunday afternoon, prompting an hour-long lockdown, police and hospital officials said.

Salem police responded to the hospital at 1:45 p.m. and later arrested James Allen Swertfeger, 35, outside his home in connection with the incident, police spokesman Angela Hedrick said.

Court documents filed with the Marion County Circuit Court showed Swertfeger was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, assaulting a public safety officer, and felon in possession of a firearm.

The encounter began after a man was flagged by the hospital’s weapons screening machines at the emergency department entrance, which prompted a more thorough check, Salem Health spokesman Michael Gay said.

When hospital staff requested a search, the man became agitated and left. The man later returned to the hospital’s emergency department entrance in his vehicle, and when staff asked him to leave, he pointed a gun at a security guard. 

Salem Health began screening visitors and patients for weapons at all hospital and clinic entrances last August after a national rise in threats and violence against health care workers. 

Salem Health begins weapons screenings at hospital entrances

Prior to the new screening measures, the hospital had screened people entering the emergency room using a magnetic wave scanner intended to flag weapons. Last August the hospital decided to add security checkpoints with scanners or wands and bag searches to all entrances on hospital grounds. 

Swertfeger remains lodged in the Marion County Jail as of Monday afternoon.

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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