Dad involved in Tomball hospital standoff opens up to ABC-13

TOMBALL, TX (KTRK) -- A father claims he was trying to stop hospital staff from ending his son's life when he caused a stand-off at Tomball Regional Hospital. On Friday, that father faces a judge for charges related to the January incident, but for the first time, he's speaking publicly about his actions.

George Pickering called ABC-13, wanting to tell his side of the story. He insists he is just a grieving father who never planned to hurt anyone.

In January, Pickering pulled a gun on a nurse tending to his son inside Tomball Regional Hospital.

"I had no intentions of hurting anybody," he said.

His son was in intensive care, he says, after suffering the latest in what he thought was a series of seizures. When he was told his son had been placed on life support and would soon be taken off, investigators say he became belligerent and ordered the nurse and everyone else out of the room.

"I brandished a pistol and I told them to get out of the room. I told them it was my time, my time to be with my son," Pickering said.

Pickering said he brought the gun because he was going to kill himself if his son was going to die.

Another of his son's wrestled the gun away. But he claimed still to have another weapon. A SWAT team was called in and Pickering says he prayed with his son, still on life support.

"I ended up holding my son's hand telling him to squeeze my hand. 'Squeeze my hand son, squeeze my had,' and he did that three to four times during the time," Pickering said.

Finally after four hours, Pickering surrendered. But he says it bought enough time to prove his son should live.

Pickering says his son is alive today because of this, though he apparently has some cognitive issues.

Pickering is set to appear in court Friday. He expects to be arrested for violating a no contact order put in place following this incident. He says he and his son recently were Baptized together.