Thomas Gibson fired from 'Criminal Minds'

Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from Criminal Minds following an earlier incident in which he kicked one of the show's writers, Mashable has confirmed.

"Thomas Gibson has been dismissed from Criminal Minds,"explained a statement from ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios. "Creative details for how the character's exit will be addressed in the show will be announced at a later date."

Production sources told TMZ that the incident took place a few weeks ago. Gibson, who has portrayed Special Agent Aaron Hotchner since 2005, was reportedly "directing and acting in a scene when he got in a creative dispute with one of the writers. We're told the argument escalated and Thomas exploded in anger, kicking the writer in the leg."

Update: A rep for Gibson provided Mashable with the following statement from the actor.

"I love Criminal Minds and have put my heart and soul into it for the last twelve years. I had hoped to see it through to the end, but that won't be possible now. I would just like to say thank you to the writers, producers, actors, our amazing crew, and, most importantly, the best fans that a show could ever hope to have."