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PORTLAND, Oregon — A security guard died after being shot Saturday at an Oregon hospital, and the suspect was later killed by police in a nearby community, authorities said.
Police were responding to reports that a person fired shots with at least one firearm at Portland’s Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, the Portland Police Department said in a statement.
Arriving officers searched for the gunman while they worked with hospital staff to treat the guard, who was transferred to another facility, where he later died.
Police from various agencies later tracked the suspect’s vehicle to nearby Gresham, about 15 miles east of Portland, where the vehicle was stopped. Officers shot and killed the suspect, and no officers were injured, the release said.
The name of the suspect has not been released. Police are investigating the motive for the shooting.
The hospital identified the killed guard as Bobby Smallwood. In a statement, it said another member of staff was shot in the incident and his condition was stable. That person has not been identified. No patients were injured in the incident, the hospital said.
The suspect was shot and killed after a confrontation with officers in Gresham.KGW
In a briefing at the hospital, Portland Police Bureau Sgt. Kevin Allen said he could not confirm anyone else was injured “related to the gunfire” at the hospital.
The initial emergency call from hospital security reported that “someone visiting a patient verbally threatened hospital staff” before the shooting, OregonLive/The Oregonian reported. Witnesses said they heard three to four shots.
“Words cannot express the deep sadness we are experiencing,” Kathryn Correia, president and CEO of Legacy Health, said in the hospital statement. “We offer our unwavering support to Bobby’s loved ones, to our patients in our care, to the Legacy Good Samaritan staff, and to all of our employees and caregivers who are suffering today.”
