RN #505 was fired on December 1, 2025, according to Human Resources Manager #313, who confirmed the termination during a January 7 interview with state inspectors. The nurse's personnel file showed his last day of employment was the same date.
Multiple staff members heard the gunshot but didn't immediately recognize what had happened. CNA #381 told inspectors during a January 7 interview that he heard the sound when the firearm discharged but didn't know what caused it at the time. He saw RN #505 running up the stairs afterward, and the nurse asked him if he had heard the sound.
"There was dust everywhere," the nursing assistant said.
Resident #74 was in the facility when the gun went off. During an January 7 interview, she told inspectors she heard the firearm discharge but didn't know what the sound was. She said she found out the next day it was a gun and didn't know anyone who saw it happen.
The physical evidence was unmistakable. CNA #323 was on break when she heard a loud bang but didn't see what happened. When she returned, she saw the hole in the floor and found bullet casings scattered around the area, she told inspectors during a January 22 interview.
LPN #365 was working in another area of the facility that evening and didn't hear the gunshot. But she heard about the incident that same evening and saw the damage to the floor when she went to look, she said during a January 22 interview.
Another licensed practical nurse, LPN #805, heard the sound of the firearm when it discharged but didn't see the gun itself, he told inspectors during a January 26 interview.
Nobody else appeared to witness the actual discharge. CNA #381 said he didn't know of anyone other than RN #505 who was present when the firearm went off.
The facility had a clear policy prohibiting weapons. A review of Bella Terrace's "Firearms and Other Weapons" policy, last revised in April 2007, showed the facility prohibited employees, residents, visitors, vendors or others from possessing firearms or other weapons while on facility premises.
The inspection report doesn't explain how RN #505 came to have a firearm in the facility or what caused it to discharge. It also doesn't detail what immediate safety measures were taken after the incident or whether residents were moved away from the area.
State inspectors classified the violation as "immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety" affecting few residents. The deficiency represents non-compliance investigated under two separate complaint numbers: OH001295678 and OH001295679.
The timing suggests the incident occurred shortly before the nurse's termination, though the exact date of the discharge isn't specified in the inspection report. What's clear is that by December 1, RN #505 was no longer employed at the facility.
For staff who were there, the memory of that evening remained vivid weeks later. The sound of the gunshot. The dust in the air. The hole in the floor. The scattered bullet casings that CNA #323 found when she returned from her break.
Resident #74 learned the next day that the sound she couldn't identify was a gun going off inside the place where she lived.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Bella Terrace Rehabilitation and Nursing Center from 2026-01-29 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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