Gunman Wounds Nurse at Los Angeles-Area Mental Clinic

The shooting took place after noon in the mental ward on the campus of the hospital, deputies said.

Police arrested a gunman Monday who shot and wounded a nurse at a mental health clinic on the campus of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, deputies said.

The male nurse was shot in the leg at 12:10 p.m. in the mental health urgent care facility that shares a campus with Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in unincorporated Willowbrook, Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials said.

The nurse was hospitalized in stable condition, and the wound was not life-threatening, Sgt. Jose Ovalle said.

The shooting took place at the Mental Health Urgent Care Center, a privately-operated facility that is separate from the main medical center.

Family members may have brought the 20-year-old man to the facility for psychiatric treatment when "he became agitated," Deputy Amber Smith said.

There was a struggle and the nurse was shot in the thigh when the gun went off, officials said.

The gunman was taken into custody at the scene. Nobody else was hurt, and the building was not evacuated, Smith said.

The building has private security guards, but does not have metal detectors.

"I have always wanted our urgent care centers to feel like home and welcoming," said the clinic's CEO Luana Murphy.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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