Man arrested in connection with threatening calls made to MUSC’s ER

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A man was charged Saturday after the Medical University of South Carolina’s emergency department received a pair of threatening phone calls, hospital officials say.

Tony Gilson, 49, faces a charge of unlawful use of the telephone, according to jail records. A judge set bond at $2,500, jail records state.

In one of the calls, a caller said, “I’m going to shoot your security officers, especially the black ones,” an incident report from the MUSC Department of Public Safety states. The calls were received at approximately midnight and again at 4 a.m. on Saturday, the report states.

An emergency department employee told officers she received two phone calls from an older man with a “rough-sounding voice,” the report states. The employee told police the man sounded intoxicated and the only thing she could understand during the first call was the man saying something about having a gun.

In the second call, the man again sounded intoxicated and would not answer questions but she was able to make out the threat about shooting security officers.

The report states officers traced the phone number from which the calls were made to Gilson, who security officers had escorted from the hospital earlier, the report states. Gilson told police his brother had made the calls.

On Sunday, MUSC spokesman Tony Ciuffo said a person made “disturbing comments” directed at the downtown hospital but did not provide further information. The decision to increase the hospital’s security presence was made out of an abundance of caution, Ciuffo said.

The hospital remained fully operational to serve patients and their families and hospital officials said they are coordinating with the Charleston Police Department.

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