Post by Admin on Jun 30, 2017 16:31:27 GMT -4
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A gunman who opened fire at Bronx Lebanon Hospital is dead, police said.
The incident began at 2:50 p.m. at 173rd Street and Grand Concourse in the Mt. Eden section.
Four to six people were shot, and other people suffered minor injuries while attempting to get away.
The extent of the injuries of the other shooting victims wasn’t immediately clear.
The gunman has been identified as Dr. Henry Bello, a former employee. He allegedly brought a rifle into the hospital underneath a white lab coat.
Police went floor by floor searching for him.
A “red alert” went off within the hospital, which was placed on lockdown. Doctors and nurses barricaded themselves within.
“Everybody said ‘Code red, shut your doors.’ We didn’t know what was going on, we were scared. I heard people screaming. … I pushed the chair to the door so nobody could come in,” a hospital patient named Toby told CBS2’s Valerie Castro. “I got scared. I started crying, I didn’t know what to do.”
“People were scared, they were nervous,” he added. “I feel very grateful, I’m scared to go back inside.”
One of the gunshot victims was a doctor who had been shot in the hand, a witness named Gonzalo said.
“It was scary seeing the blood on the doctors,” I saw blood on the floor, I saw blood on one of the doctor’s hands.”
Images posted on social media showed some people in hospital rooms had erected impromptu barriers against the doors.
Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center describes itself as the largest voluntary, not-for-profit health care system in the south and central Bronx.
The 120-year-old hospital claims nearly 1,000 beds spread across multiple units. Its emergency room is among the busiest in New York City.
The hospital is about a mile and a half north of Yankee Stadium.
Check back soon for more information on this developing story.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
