Police: Woman cited for firing four shots inside Baptist Health Louisville hospital room

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A female patient at Baptist Health Louisville was cited by police Wednesday morning after they say she shot a gun four times in her hospital room.

St. Matthews Police Chief Barry Wilkerson said the first call came in at about 5:30 a.m., and the number of calls afterwards escalated the call to an active shooter, which caused some initial confusion.

“We knew that not to be the case, it was an isolated event to one room,” he said.

The chief said the woman, identified as Mystic Rayne on the citation, fired four shots inside her hospital room. He said she fired the first shot as a nurse tried to enter her room.

“At this point it doesn’t appear that it was fired at anyone directly, it appears that some were fired out to the window and into the ceiling,” Wilkerson said.

According to the citation, police evacuated 21 patients before entering Rayne’s room, and she tossed the gun onto a chair when they entered.

Rayne was cited for wanton endangerment and criminal mischief.

Wilkerson said she was airlifted to the hospital. 

Louisville Metro Police did respond to the scene as well.

“When the phone calls started coming in it was escalated to an active shooter, again, we knew it was, that’s why we responded as we did, as to a trouble run-shots fired,” Wilkerson said. “It escalated that way, and of course, any time you have that, whether it’s in Louisville Metro or here, every officer that’s in that area is gonna respond. They responded quickly, efficiently, I have to give them a lot of credit for showing up and giving us the resources that a smaller department like us needs.”

A Baptist Health Louisville spokesperson said it was a “contained incident involving a gun being fired in a patient’s private room.”

“The safety of our patients, employees and visitors is our highest priority,” the spokesperson said. “Patient care will continue to be supported and fully operational.”

Read Baptist Health Louisville full statement to WHAS11 News below: 

At Baptist Health Louisville, our commitment is to provide high-quality care in a safe and secure environment for our patients, team members and everyone who enters our campus. When a patient presents to our hospital, our immediate priority is to assess and address their medical needs with professionalism and compassion.

While federal privacy laws prevent us from discussing patient information, we can confirm the situation that occurred this morning was contained quickly, was isolated in nature and resulted in no injuries. Our team responded promptly according to our established safety protocols.

We are grateful for the professionalism and dedication of our staff and appreciate the swift coordination and ongoing collaboration with local law enforcement as they continue their investigation.

The safety of our patients, visitors and team members remains our highest priority. Firearms are prohibited in all Baptist Health facilities, and we maintain comprehensive security procedures designed to prevent and respond to incidents to protect everyone who has entrusted us with their care.

This is a breaking news story, check back for updates.