(Reuters) – A man carrying a handgun and zip ties took hostages inside a Pennsylvania hospital on Saturday, fatally shooting a responding police officer and wounding five others before he was killed by police, officials said.
The gunman entered UPMC Memorial hospital in York, Pennsylvania, on Saturday morning and went directly to the intensive care unit, where he took staff members hostage, York County District Attorney Tim Barker said in a press conference. A nurse and custodian were both shot and wounded, and a doctor was grazed.
The suspect and police exchanged gunfire after he walked into the hallway holding a female staff member at gunpoint with her hands bound, Barker said.
Andrew Duarte, a West York police officer, was killed by the gunman, officials said. Two other officers were wounded and are in stable condition, as are the injured nurse and custodian.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro visited the hospital after the shooting and praised Duarte and other officers for saving more lives.
“Here in York County today, we saw the very best and the very worst of humanity,” Shapiro said.
The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, had contact with the ICU earlier in the week “for a medical purpose involving another individual,” Barker said, though he said he did not have further details on a possible motive for the incident on Saturday.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Paul Simao)
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