Man accused of having guns at hospital says it was ‘honest mistake’

WPTV spoke Tuesday to a man who faces charges after multiple firearms were found inside his backpack while he was on the job at a hospital in Indian River County.

The Vero Beach man, Christopher Webb, was arrested at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital on an outstanding warrant.

“I’ve lost everything,” Webb said. “I’ve lost my job. I’ve lost my dignity now.”

Body camera footage provided by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office led to an additional felony charge after deputies found two loaded handguns, 10 loaded magazines and additional ammo inside of his backpack.

“I honestly made a mistake. I had put them in there with the intention of going to the range, and I forgot they were in there,” Webb said. “I was in a hurry that morning when I left here, and I left them in the bag on accident.”

The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office arrested Christopher Webb, an employee at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, on March 7, 2024.

Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said Monday his agency got lucky, and that this could have been a bad situation.

“It could have been a suicide-by-cop situation,” Flowers said during a news conference. “It could have been he wanted to harm people at the hospital. We really don’t know what he was up to.”

But Webb said he did not have any bad intentions.

“That’s not my character and anybody that knows me knows that,” Webb said.

What initially brought deputies to Webb’s workplace last week was the outstanding warrant — a misdemeanor charge for exposure of sexual organs.

Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers announces the arrest of Christopher Webb during a news conference held March 11, 2024.

WPTV spoke with residents in Webb’s neighborhood, some of whom were unaware of anything. However, others who did not want to go on camera, said they did see Webb in recent weeks naked outside of his home where he lived with his parents, eventually recording video footage of him.

They brought that video, and their concerns to the sheriff’s office because of the children and the bus stops in the neighborhood.

“You were not naked out in front of your yard?” WPTV reporter Jon Shainman asked Webb.

“I wasn’t naked, no, no,” he replied. “There are allegations that I’ve been running around here naked and everything. That’s not true.”

The sheriff’s office said there is no history of mental health issues regarding Webb. He is now looking for a new job after being fired from the one he enjoyed for the past nine years where he served as a patient transporter in the hospital.

“I always did well with the patients,” Webb said. “Everybody loved me. I have no regrets with that. Everybody who knows me knows what kind of a person I am.”

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