Gun stockpile in hospital closet leads to $63K in fines from NJ health dept.
Enlarge / A health care worker exits the emergency room at Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey, on December 11, 2020. (credit: Getty | KENA BETANCUR)
The New Jersey health department has fined a state hospital $63,000 after police discovered a stockpile of 39 firearms-including an illegal assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine-stashed in an unlocked hospital closet.
The firearm stockpile was found on the afternoon of July 18, when Secaucus police were called to the Hudson Regional Hospital over a bomb threat. The bomb threat was later determined to be a hoax, but while police conducted a safety sweep of the facility, bomb-sniffing dogs led officers to the weapons.
The stash included 11 handguns of various calibers, 27 rifles/shotguns, and a Kriss Vector .45 caliber semi-automatic rifle with a high-capacity magazine, which police determined to be an illegal assault rifle. Additionally, they found a 14-round high-capacity handgun magazine. (Images of the stockpile were caught on released body cam footage.)