A late-night scare at Mission Community Hospital’s Panorama City campus jolted the emergency room awake early Wednesday, after a woman allegedly threatened a security guard with a knife and barricaded herself in a single-occupancy bathroom, according to police. The incident triggered a visible LAPD presence at the ER entrance and briefly disrupted activity in the lobby.
The disturbance began around 12:45 a.m., when the 38-year-old woman, who had come to the emergency department complaining of chest pain, allegedly pulled out a roughly 4-inch blade and warned a hospital security guard that she would stab him, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. She then locked herself inside the single-occupancy restroom in the ER. Video from the scene showed multiple LAPD patrol units gathered outside the entrance to the department.
Mission Community Hospital’s Panorama campus is a 145-bed acute care facility at 14850 Roscoe Boulevard that operates a 24-hour emergency department, according to California’s state facility records. The hospital provides basic emergency services to the San Fernando Valley, per the state health facility listing from California HCAI.
History of violence at the ER
The campus has seen trouble outside the emergency room before. In September 2022, a nurse was stabbed near the ER entrance, prompting a temporary lockdown and a brief manhunt, according to the Los Angeles Times. That earlier attack renewed concerns about security at smaller community hospitals in the Valley.
Television coverage at the time reported that officers and hospital security maintained a heavy presence in the area afterward and that ambulances were briefly diverted during the response, as reported by CBS Los Angeles. Episodes like that have left some staff and residents understandably jumpy when police activity ramps up around the Roscoe Boulevard campus.
As of early Wednesday, it was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured in the bathroom incident or whether the woman was taken into custody. ABC7 Los Angeles described the report as developing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD Mission Division at 818-838-9800, according to the station’s contact page from the LAPD Mission Division.
This story will be updated as officials release additional details and as the situation at the hospital evolves. Drivers and visitors may see traffic or access changes near the Roscoe Boulevard campus until police fully clear the scene.
