(CNN) — Oregon police say a suspect was killed after opening fire at a hospital in downtown Portland on Saturday, a shooting that left one person dead and another wounded.
Authorities say the suspect, who fled Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center after the shooting, was taken into custody in a vehicle by police in Gresham, east of Portland. He was shot dead after officers opened fire, according to a Portland police press release.
Police responded to the facility around 11 a.m. local time after receiving reports of a person with a weapon inside the hospital, Sergeant Kevin Allen said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.
When officers responded, they were told that a person opened fire with a weapon inside the hospital. A witness told officers that the suspected shooter had already left the hospital when police arrived, Allen said.
Sergeant Kevin Allen speaks at a news conference after a shooting at a hospital in downtown Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Credit: KPTV)
Bobby Smallwood, a security guard at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, was shot and killed during the incident, according to police and a hospital press release.
Another unidentified staff member was injured and is in stable condition, the hospital said. No patients were injured in the shooting.
A nearby Fred Meyer grocery store was evacuated and searched by police as part of an intensive search for the suspect.
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Officers later located the suspect and stopped the vehicle he was in, Portland police said.
“During the incident, the police fired shots,” the police department statement said. “The suspect is deceased. No officers were injured.”
A Portland police statement Saturday night said three officers “used deadly force in this incident” and their identities would be released within 15 days barring security threats, according to office policy.
The hospital, which was placed on lockdown after the incident, lifted its shelter-in-place directive around 4:15 p.m. local time, according to the statement.
Police respond to a shooting at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. (Credit: KATU)
The suspect was not named this Saturday afternoon and the police did not detail any possible motive.
“Words cannot express the profound pain we are experiencing,” Kathryn Correia, president and CEO of Legacy Health, said in a hospital statement. “We offer our unwavering support to Bobby’s loved ones, to our patients in our care, to the staff at Legacy Good Samaritan, and to all of our employees and providers who are suffering today.”
The Portland Police Homicide Unit, along with detectives from other units and the Forensic Evidence Division, responded to the scene and is investigating, according to police.
2023-07-23 23:48:04
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