WILLISTON, N.D. – Police here aren't sure why a man allegedly walked into a nursing home with a loaded gun, threatened employees, pointed the weapon at several people and went into one resident's room during a frightening episode, according to court documents filed here Friday.
Henry Aiken, 50, of Williston, is being held on $750,000 bond at the Williams County jail after being charged with criminal mischief, four counts of terrorizing, reckless endangerment, discharging a firearm within city limits and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police are still trying to figure out what prompted Aiken to carry a revolver Tuesday night into Bethel Lutheran Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where video from the building's security cameras shows he stopped to talk to his fiance at a nurse's station before moving through hallways and firing a bullet into a door in a wing of the Williston facility.
Aiken continued running through the building before stepping into a resident's room, where he pushed an employee and pointed the gun at her, court records say.
Two other women told police they were also threatened by Aiken, who allegedly cornered them in a hallway. Aiken aimed the gun at one, telling her to call police "because men were following him," and another woman said Aiken pushed her into a room and asked if she was going to call the police, court records say.
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Officers, who were able to track Aiken's progress through the building thanks to 911 calls from nursing home employees, eventually arrested him in a hallway without incident.
Investigators are trying to pinpoint what caused the terrifying outburst, which apparently started around 9:15 p.m. when Aiken arrived at the facility and called police, telling them he wanted to turn himself in.
Aiken's fiance told police she was aware that he was in "an agitated state," according to court records, but investigators say it's not clear what he was upset about.
The conversation between the two "is not believed by law enforcement to be the cause of the incident," Lt. Det. David Peterson of the Williston Police Department said Friday afternoon.
"Why he carried a firearm into the nursing home and waved it at staff members and residents is still under investigation," Peterson said.
He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 10.
Aiken has a prior conviction from 2004 in South Carolina for pointing a gun at a person there, court records show.
