Man who killed police on PA. Hospital had lost loved ones: hospital staff

Days before a hostage situation became fatal, a physician assistant says he spoke to the man who killed a police officer and wounded staff at a hospital in Pennsylvania And told him that his beloved had died.

A gunman held staff at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa., The cough on Saturday 22 February. West York Borough police Andre Duarte was killed in shooting, while several employees were also shot, according to police.

The suspected gunman identified as Diogenes Archangel Ortiz, 49, was killed by the police. The authorities said he went directly to ICU at UPMC told Hold Personnel hostage.

On one Facebook Post, UPMC physician assistant Lester Mendoza, who works in lung -critical care, says he interacted with the suspected shooter days before.

“I talked to the particular man who did this act and interacted with him for several days,” Mendoza wrote. “I was there when we delivered the worst news you can imagine – that his beloved was gone.” I saw his devastation from the first place. At that moment I really didn’t see a monster. He was simply broken. ”

At a news conference, York County district lawyer Timothy Barker said that a gunman went into the hospital with a bag with a gun and zipper, according to Whp-TV.

The suspect shot three employees, including a doctor who was “grazed” by a bullet, according to the district lawyer. A fourth hospital worker was injured after falling during the incident.

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Barker said that the suspect shot at three police officers, including Duarte, who were killed. The other two were struck and are in stable condition.

In his service, Mendoza said that the healthcare industry is “broken”, and writes that hospitals are under -staffed with overworked employees and that patients and their families are often left without resources for mental health.

“I would never have imagined or expected (the suspect) to do something similar,” wrote Mendoza. “But grief, fatigue, isolation and lack of mental health and social support services create cracks that people fall through. And when they do, the consequences can be catastrophic.”