A nurse wearing scrubs and body armor was detained after shooting dead a co-worker at a Philadelphia hospital, fleeing in a U-Haul truck and injuring two cops in a gun-fight.
The 55-year-old nurse shot his co-worker on the ninth floor of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital just after midnight on Monday, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference.
The co-worker, a 43-year-old man who was a certified nursing assistant, was later pronounced dead.
Cops cornered the shooter in the city's Parkside section after he fled the Hospital in a U-Haul box truck. Armed with multiple weapons, including an AR-15 rifle and a handgun, police said, the the suspect opened fire on the officers, and all four fired back.
Two officers received non-life-threatening injuries during the shootout. The gunman was shot in the upper body and neck and was taken to Penn Presbyterian in critical condition for treatment, and is expected to survive.
Police said they believe the shooting was targeted.
A nurse wearing scrubs and body armor shot and killed a co-worker at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (pictured) just after midnight Monday
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw (pictured) said officers cornered the shooter after he fled in a U Haul, and they got into a shootout. Two officers were injured with non-life threatening injuries
Outlaw said it was unclear whether the nurse was working at the time of the shooting, but police believe he may had access to areas only employees can enter.
The four officers managed to find the suspect at around 1.25am after they were alerted to his location by a passerby, who reported seeing a man waving a large gun near a school about four miles from Jefferson hospital.
Officers observed him wearing body armor, and he had several weapons including a rifle and a semi-automatic handgun, Outlaw said.
'We learned that he was wearing body armor, and was carrying multiple weapons. In addition to the long gun which was believed to be an AR-15, he was also carrying some form of a semi-automatic handgun,' Outlaw said, according to ABC 6.
Police said the the suspect fired anywhere from 55 to 80 times in the shootout, Fox29 reported. Of the two officers were struck in the gunfight - one suffered an elbow wound that will require surgery while the other was grazed on the nose.
The shooting suspect fled in a U-Haul box truck (pictured) before being cornered by officers in the Parkside section of Philadelphia
Officers were alerted to the shooting suspect's location by a passerby, who said they saw a man waving a large gun
A gunfight erupted outside the U-Haul truck after the shooting suspect opened fire on the officers
One officer was injured in the elbow in the shootout, and the other suffered a grazing wound to the nose. Police were seen at the scene of the shootout Monday morning
It was unclear what sparked the shooting and investigators were looking into the histories of both men, Outlaw said. Police believe the shooting was targeted.
'We do believe that other employee was targeted,' she said. 'The reasons why, at this point we still don't know.'
Hospital employees said they were notified by text message shortly before 1am of an active shooter situation in the Gibbon building of the hospital, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pedestrians walked past the Thomas Jefferson hospital Monday morning, hour after the shooting took place
Police said they believe the nurse had access to areas only employees can enter
'Enact emergency procedures,' the text read. 'Run, hide, fight.'
In a neighboring hospital building, employees said they heard an official over the loudspeaker telling them to shelter in place. Some told the outlet that they barricaded themselves in a break room for roughly an hour.
The shooter was described as a man in blue scrubs and a mask with a black backpack. The clothes and U-Haul truck he allegedly fled the scene in was later recovered by officers.
Investigators have not released the identities of the suspect or victim, but hospital officials said more details would be made available later on Monday.
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