EDMONDS – Dr. Bruce Williams often chats with his patients about their hobbies.
Gardeners show him flowers. Bakers sometimes bring in treats.
On Tuesday a patient brought in the 1918 Mauser rifle he’s restoring.
It’s hard to judge who was more surprised.
Was it the people who watched a man casually carrying a rifle in a case through the building?
Or was it the man, 77, suddenly surrounded by police officers as he waited to see his internist?
“It was purely a desire to connect and show me his hobby,” Williams said.
Police first got a call about 11 a.m. Someone saw a man go into a restroom carrying a long canvas bag that appeared to have a gun in it.
Squad cars rushed to the medical building, in the 21600 block of 76th Avenue W.
Officers told people in nearby offices to lock their doors. Edmonds-Woodway High School went into lock-down.
Police swept through the building. They found the man in a waiting room, sitting with other patients, the case with the Mauser in it on the floor below his seat.
“You wouldn’t have known anything was out of the normal until three officers came in,” receptionist Marlys Melrose said. “We didn’t know what was causing all the excitement.”
The man was dumbfounded by the commotion, Edmonds police Sgt. Mark Marsh said.
He explained to the officers that during his last doctor’s visit they spoke about his collection of antique guns. Williams told him he’d like to see it some day.
“I told him I didn’t think he’d be able to walk a rifle into the office, but sure enough he showed up with a rifle,” Williams said. “He’s a sweet guy who wanted to show me his latest work.”
There was never any threat, Marsh said The rifle wasn’t loaded and was never out of its case. “It’s not illegal, but it sure is an odd situation,” he said.
When the ruckus died down, the man finally got a chance to show Williams the gun inside an examination room.
He’s done some retooling to the World War I-vintage German rifle, Williams said.
Police then escorted the man back outside.
“Next time we advised him to keep the gun in his car and let the doctor know it was out there if he wanted to look at it,” Marsh said.
Edmonds police did not release the man’s name or his hometown.
Melrose said she appreciated the police department’s quick response.
“They were being cautious and took it seriously. I’m glad I live here,” she said.
Last August there was a similar scare just a few blocks away.
Edmonds police were called when someone reported a man going into a medical building carrying what appeared to be a shotgun. Police closed a road and called for the SWAT team.
Before things got too far, police at the scene figured out that the man was carrying a cane. The cane was painted to look like a double-barreled pistol-grip shotgun.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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