RISKAlert Report #1094 November 20, 2018 Chicago, Illinois
A young Chicago police officer, an ER Doctor and Pharmacist were killed in an attack at a South Side hospital Monday afternoon that sent medical personnel and police running through the hospital’s halls, stairwells and even the nursery in search of victims and the shooter before he was found dead from a gunshot to the head.
Police had been called to the hospital after the ex-finance, Juan Lopez, 32, confronted emergency room doctor Tamara O’Neal, apparently over a “broken engagement,” sources said. By the time police arrived on the scene, Lopez had shot O’Neal repeatedly, standing over her as he fired the last shots, according to police sources and witnesses. “When they pulled up, they heard the gunshots, and they did what heroic officers always do — they ran toward that gunfire”, said Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
Michael Davenport, Mercy’s chief medical officer, said the hospital had conducted an active shooter drill last month. About 200 patients were being treated in the hospital on Monday, but authorities only evacuated the emergency room. The hospital’s emergency plans include barricading doors and ensuring patient safety.
Witnesses reported total confusion initially; when it was unclear how many people had been shot, how many police were there, and how many shooters there were. As dispatchers and responding officers tried to make sense of the scene, reports came in of an officer shot somewhere in the lobby, a woman and an assistant also wounded. Finally, there was word of the gunman apparently shot in the head.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1. Hospital reported it held Active Shooter training last month, but the scene was still total
chaos as the shooter ran into the hospital, firing randomly.
2. The hospital incident response plan was not effective in controlling the panic that ensured,
with hospital staff, visitors in the ER, and others were left terrified
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