Four people are dead after a gunman started shooting randomly at victims at a Chicago hospital on Nov. 19.
Four people were critically wounded in the attack. Three of these victims have since been confirmed dead, including police officer Samuel Jimenez who was one of the first to respond to the incident, a police spokesman said on Twitter.
An emergency room doctor was also killed.
Police told ABC7 that shots were fired both inside and outside Mercy hospital in Chicago’s South Side around 3:15 p.m.
Sources have identified the gunman as Juan Lopez. Lopez was later shot dead by a SWAT team officer, according to CBS Chicago.
People exit Mercy Hospital with their hands up after shots were fired on the hospital campus. Family members are being asked to meet at East 27th Street and King Drive, where a warming center has been set up. https://t.co/LrxdbXyhHp pic.twitter.com/MZbe2JmLgd
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) November 19, 2018
Policeman and Doctor Shot
The gunman first opened fire in the parking lot outside the hospital before bursting into the lobby of the hospital and opening fire again, according to reports.
A witness named James Gray told reporters that it looked as if the attacker “was turning and shooting people at random.”
The shooting apparently began as the suspect was walking with a woman near a parking lot. He turned and repeatedly shot the woman in the chest. The two had been talking to each other in what Gray said did not appear to be a heated exchange.
“Then once she fell to the ground, he stood over her and shot her three more times,” he said.
The woman has been identified as Dr Tamara O’Neal, an E.R. doctor at the hospital. She was also the gunman’s ex-fiancee, according to CBS2 reporter Brad Edwards.
A friend of mine worked with – and respected – the doctor who was the target of today’s shooting at Mercy Hospital. Here’s how she describes her… pic.twitter.com/XCDY7ai7th
— Ben Bradley (@BenBradleyTV) November 20, 2018
Police have not commented on a possible motive.
The gunman shot at police officers when they arrived at the parking lot and then he entered the hospital, witnesses told CBS Chicago.
Once the gunman was inside, he shot another woman, who has since passed away. She has not been identified.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer Samuel Jimenez was shot and taken to University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition. Guglielmi later announced that Officer Jimenez had died just after 7:30 p.m.
This is Samuel Jimenez. A husband. A father. The brave @Chicago_Police Officer who confronted an armed suspect at Mercy Hospital. Tragically, he has died from his injuries. But his valor, his heroism will live on forever. Rest In Peace Sir. pic.twitter.com/RQzZk9cCiI
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) November 20, 2018
A second officer had also been shot at, but he escaped uninjured because the bullet struck his holster and embedded itself in his gun.
A second Chicago cop was shot but not injured during today’s Mercy Hospital shooting. Looks closely, you’ll see where bullet hit the officer’s holster and gun. @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/N33xYnMeTB
— Ben Bradley (@BenBradleyTV) November 20, 2018
Hospital in Chaos
Employees told ABC7 that the shooting had taken place in an outpatient area of the hospital that is relatively open. The scene was reportedly chaotic.
“It was chaos, mass chaos,” Gray told ABC7. He described the shooting as surreal “like a movie scene.”
Employees from the hospital’s pharmacy, which is just inside the hospital lobby, said that the gunman was trying to get into the pharmacy and was arguing with some people.
The pharmacy employees told ABC7 that they followed the hospital’s active shooter training. They closed their shutters, barricaded the door, and hid.
“We hid for a little while in one of the rooms and barricaded the door.” Witnesses describe scene after gunman reportedly opened fire on the campus of Mercy Hospital in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/5eqdn3ybZf
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) November 19, 2018
Police cars and ambulances swarmed the hospital after the shooting as officers searched the medical facility.
As of 4:40 p.m., police had secured the hospital, and all patients were safe, hospital officials told CBS Chicago.
A shooting took place at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center this afternoon. The shooting at Mercy Hospital is over. Chicago Police Department have secured the hospital and patients are safe.
— Mercy Chicago (@MercyChicago) November 19, 2018
Sue Jimenez, the manager of Kozy’s Cyclery bike shop near the hospital, said she heard multiple gunshots separated by pauses. At one point, she heard five shots in quick succession, she said, but the shooting stopped after police arrived.
ATF Chicago said they plan to assist in the investigation.
ATF Chicago Field Division is responding to the active shooting incident at Mercy Hospital in Chicago and assisting our local and state partners. @ATF_Chicago @Chicago_Police
— ATF Chicago (@ATF_Chicago) November 19, 2018
A Family Assistance Center has been set up at Dunbar High School at 3000 South Martin Luther King Boulevard for those affected by the shooting, The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications told ABC7.
Reuters and AP contributed to this report.
Watch Next:
The Threats Facing the World and a Vision to Achieve a Brighter Future
We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.