Man starting fires with oxygen in hospital room created ‘hostage situation’, GA cops say

A man is accused of creating a “hostage situation” at a hospital by setting fires in a patient room and telling staff he had a gun and a bomb, according to a Georgia police department.

At nearly 2 a.m. on June 27, officers responded to the WellStar West Georgia Medical Center where James E. Smith III had “started several small fires” in a patient room, according to a news release from the LaGrange Police Department.

He also turned on the room’s oxygen system and continued to set the fires in “an attempt to cause an explosion in the hospital” police said.

Before officers could arrest him, he told hospital staff that he had a gun and a bomb, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation “needed to be notified because this was a hostage situation,” police said.

Smith has been charged with aggravated assault, first-degree arson, terroristic threats and battery, according to police.

LaGrange is about 70 miles southwest of Atlanta.