TACOMA, Wash. — A loaded firearm was discovered inside one of Pierce County’s busiest hospitals after being left unattended by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contractor.

KING 5 confirmed that early Saturday morning, an ICE contractor from the Northwest ICE Processing Facility in Tacoma left their gun in a bathroom at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma.

It is a situation the Washington State Nurses Association, which represents nurses at the hospital, called “atrociously unsafe.”

At St. Joseph Hospital, there are signs throughout the campus that state no weapons are allowed on the premises. The exceptions are law enforcement and corrections officers.

The ICE contractor was permitted to carry a firearm while on duty, accompanying a detainee to the hospital. Gun safety advo

See Full Page