A shooting at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center on Chicago’s near south side this afternoon left four dead including a police officer and the unidentified shooter.
The shooting began after the gunman confronted his girlfriend outside the hospital in Bronzeville, possibly over a “broken engagement,” sources said. The gunman shot the woman at least three times, then stood over her and fired some more, witnesses said. He then ran inside where he shot the officer and another person. The gunman fired at other officers, and a bullet struck the holster of one of them, burrowing into the side of his gun, sources said. A fragment of the bullet fell into his pocket.
The murdered police officer has been identified as Samuel Jimenez.
The shooter died of a gunshot wound to the head. It isn’t clear if that was the result of return fire or a self-inflicted wound.
(Witness James) Gray said the gun looked like a 9 mm handgun; a police source said authorities had identified it as a 9 mm.
When the gunman came into the hospital, it appeared that he was shooting people at random, said Gray, who saw one other person shot.
Under Illinois law, it’s prohibited to carry a firearm in “any building, real property, and parking area under the control of a public or private hospital or hospital affiliate, mental health facility, or nursing home.” So much for the state’s famously strict gun control laws. All they did in this case is make sure that no one in or near the hospital other than the law enforcement officers could defend themselves.
Four dead in Chicago hospital shooting. https://t.co/JgbsvEvX15
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 20, 2018