Psych Patient Goes On Violent Rampage At Somerville Clinic, Police Say

An apparent dispute over the ownership of a cell phone led to a frightening altercation at a Somerville psychiatric facility, and a Boston man faces attempted murder charges in its wake, according to authorities.

Sean Brooks, 39, of Boston, is also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of property.

Somerville Police say a staff member at Cambridge/Somerville Emergency Services, 660 Broadway, noticed that his cell phone had disappeared at about 1:30 a.m., Monday, March 9. More than six hours later, he heard a sound extremely reminiscent of his phone coming from Brooks, an overnight patient at the clinic.

Brooks told the staffer he found the phone in the bathroom, and begged him not to tell the other employees that he wasn’t originally planning to give the phone back to its owner. Then, Brooks asked to leave the facility, but the staffer said he’d have to wait a bit before he could be officially signed out due to a shift changeover.

At this point Brooks picked up a chair, and gestured as though he planned to strike the staffer, who quickly departed the premises, according to police.

By 8 a.m., Brooks had become increasingly enraged and was screaming about the phone, which had been left on a nearby table. After knocking over several computers and a chair, Brooks attempted to strangle a nurse, while insisting that she give him some money before he returned to the outside world. The nurse managed to free herself, and understandably, staff decided to abandon their usual procedure for patient dismissal and ordered Brooks out of the establishment without properly signing him out.

Oddly enough, authorities say, Brooks gave the cell phone back to its owner before running away from the clinic. Police apprehended him shortly thereafter.