PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A man shot and killed his co-worker inside Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City early Monday morning, according to police. Investigators also say he drove off in a U-Haul truck, shot two police officers in a gun battle in West Philadelphia and was wounded himself.
The suspect and the officers are all expected to survive, according to Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw who spoke to reporters outside Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where the suspect and officers were getting treatment.
It was around midnight when police got a call that there was a shooting on the 9th floor at Jefferson Hospital. A 55-year-old man is suspected of shooting and killing a 43-year-old co-worker, a certified nursing assistant, according to police.
"We don’t know if the suspect was working tonight," Outlaw said. "We do know that he entered the hospital in scrubs and possibly accessed portions of the hospital that only employees can access."
A motive for the shooting not initially clear.
"Still really early. We’re going through the decedent’s history, obviously, to find out what was going on between the two of them, and we’re obviously looking into the history of the shooter as well," Outlaw said.
About an hour and a half after the shooting, police said the suspect made his way to 40th Street and Parkside Avenue, by the School of the Future. Someone called 911 because he may have been shooting into the air. Four 16th district police officers arrived, and police say the suspect shot two of them during an exchange of gunfire. The suspect, who police said was wearing body armor and had several guns on him, was hit as well.
Police say one of the officers, a 30-year-old man, was hit in the elbow. Outlaw said he needed surgery and is listed in critical but stable condition. The other officer was grazed in the nose and is listed in stable condition. The suspect was hit in the upper body and is in critical condition.
Jefferson Health did not put out a statement initially and referred questions to law enforcement.
This was the second deadly active shooter situation in Philadelphia in a matter of days. On Friday, a man was killed in an office building in North Philadelphia, at 5201 Old York Road.
An armed man walked into the building and shot 25-year-old security guard Nassir Day in the head, killing him. The gunman was arrested and charged.