Police responded to Vancouver General Hospital Wednesday afternoon after a combative patient damaged the inside of an ambulance.

Police say it happened around 4 p.m. They say the man attempted to smash the windows of the ambulance and allegedly grabbed needles from a sharps container.

When officers arrived, the suspect was sitting in the driver seat of the ambulance and appeared to be trying to start the engine.

Responders used a police car to block the ambulance and took the suspect into custody.

Police say a bean-bag shotgun was fired during the arrest de to the violent behaviour and because the suspect did not comply with police directions.

The suspect has not been charged with any offences and is receiving additional medical care.

B.C. Emergency Health Services say the paramedics that were onboard the ambulance at the time were able to exit the vehicle safely and did not sustain any physical injuries.

“The ambulance has been taken out of service to be cleaned and repaired and has been replaced with a different vehicle from the BCEHS fleet,” Paramedic Public Information Officer Brian Twaites said.

Twaites said WorkSafeBC has been notified of the incident and will review the circumstances to develop any recommendations that could prevent a similar incident from reoccurring.