PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – Authorities in Plattsburgh Wednesday praised the heroic actions of a man who reported his brother to police to stop a possible mass shooting at the local hospital.
Police say they were able to stop 52-year-old Robert Thibodeau, an armed and disgruntled former CVPH employee, thanks to a critical tip on Tuesday morning .
“The North Country really is what you think it is, everybody is here to help each other, to make it a safe place,” said Plattsburgh Police Chief Peter Mitchell. “I mean the hero in all of this is the brother.”
Police say they stopped Thibodeau about a mile from CVPH, where they say he intended to open fire on hospital employees. According to the police statement from John Thibodeau, his brother was upset because he wasn’t considered for a promotion, and after tendering his notice to quit, he was fired Tuesday morning. The statement went on to say that Thibodeau told his brother that “all upper management at CVPH were dead.”
Concerned about the threat, John Thibodeau drove to his brother’s house in West Plattsburgh to try to block his truck from leaving the driveway. When that didn’t work, he called the police, warning them his brother was armed and likely had guns inside his home.
“We did find some more rounds in the car that he had along with the shotgun. At the location, found more weapons. Not going to release what types right now, still an active investigation and could still be some more charges coming,” Chief Mitchell said.
At CVPH, Mitchell says officers also worked to ensure Thibodeau could not make it into the hospital. “Officers were coordinating with our other officers to have the exits blocked off — the exits to the hospital, on the roads — so that people could not make it in. If a description of the vehicle did arrive at one of the entrances, then it could have been hopefully stopped at that location, too,” he said.
Mitchell stresses that Tuesday could have gone very differently if his brother had not intervened and urges anyone in a similar situation to always contact the police.
Thibodeau entered a not-guilty plea Tuesday to one count of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded firearm and he is receiving mental health support in custody. He’s due in court on Thursday.
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