Authorities said a security guard was killed and another injured when a gunman opened fire Saturday morning inside a hospital in Portland, Oregon. After a chase, the suspect is shot and killed by police during a traffic stop.
Portland Police Bureau Sgt. The shooting was reported at about 11 a.m. Pacific time at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in northwest Portland, Kevin Allen told reporters at a news briefing.
A security guard, named Bobby Smallwood, was taken to the trauma center with gunshot wounds but later died of his injuries, police and the hospital confirmed Saturday night.
The hospital said that one of the hospital staff who was wounded in the shooting was in stable condition.
Police stated that no patients were injured.
After the shooting, responding officers sealed off the hospital and began “fanning all over the neighborhood” looking for the suspect, Allen said.
He revealed that a nearby Fred Meyer grocery store was also evacuated and searched, but the suspect was not inside.
Police said the suspect was later spotted and stopped by officers from multiple law enforcement agencies while he was driving in the city of Gresham, which is located east of Portland, about 15 miles from the hospital.
Police said the officer opened fire on the suspect during the traffic stop and he died at the scene. His identity was not immediately established. None of the officers were injured. Police have not confirmed whether the suspect was armed when he was found, or if he fired at police.
There was no word on a possible motive behind the hospital shooting, and no details were provided on the circumstances that led to it.
During the search for the suspect, a shelter-in-place was in effect for the hospital, and all visitors, patients, and staff were asked to stay away. Since then this shelter has been lifted.
Good Samaritan Medical Center is part of the Legacy Health System.
“Words cannot express the deep sadness we feel,” Catherine Correa, President and CEO of Legacy Health, said in a 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.”
