Deputies: Patient, 74, aimed gun at nurse

A 74-year-old patient in a hospital bed in a Mease-Dunedin Hospital critical care unit became "angry and belligerent" and aimed a loaded gun at a nurse Monday afternoon before a second quick-thinking nurse disarmed him, deputies say.

Paul Schein was placed under arrest by sheriff's deputies on attempted murder charges, even as he remained hospitalized, deputies said.

It happened at about 5:07 p.m. at the hospital, 601 Main St., Dunedin, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Deputies responding to a call of an armed man at the hospital learned from hospital staff that Schein pulled a gun and pointed it at one of the nurses, both of whom are now witnesses.

"He had become angry and belligerent towards the staff," said Cecilia Barreda, a sheriff's spokeswoman. Barreda said Schein's bed was in a general area of the critical care unit, though she could not immediately say if the bed was secluded from other patients.

Though details were not provided, deputies said in a statement that a second nurse was able to disarm Schein, who was hospitalized for unknown reasons.

When deputies arrived, hospital security had already detained Schein.

Schein, of 710 Roanoke Ave., remain at the hospital under arrest, which is typical for those with medical conditions. Deputies said Schein would be booked into the Pinellas County Jail when doctors say he's ready to leave.

Luis Perez, Times staff writer