Man arrested with gun at Marion, Ill., VA hospital

MARION, Ill. -- Federal authorities say a man who threatened a shooting rampage at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Southern Illinois was later arrested when police found him with a loaded handgun in his vehicle outside the site.

Federal prosecutors have charged 29-year-old Mark Harmon of Shawneetown, Ill., with one count of possessing a firearm on federal property with the intent to commit a crime.

Authorities allege that Harmon phoned a nurse at the VA hospital in Marion on Oct. 8 and said he was going to "fill that place with lead."

Officials said Harmon was arrested when law enforcers found a handgun, a magazine loaded to capacity with 13 bullets and loose ammunition.

Harmon's public defender did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday.

Harmon remains jailed, pending a detention hearing today.