YORK, Pa. (AP) — A man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties entered a Pennsylvania hospital's intensive care unit Saturday and took staff members hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an officer dead, authorities said.
Three workers at UPMC Memorial Hospital, including a doctor, a nurse and a custodian, and two other officers were shot and wounded in the attack, York County District Attorney Tim Barker said. A fourth staffer was injured in a fall.
Gunfire erupted after officers went to engage the shooter, whom Barker identified as Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49. He said Archangel-Ortiz was holding at gunpoint a female staff member who had her hands bound with zip ties when police opened fire.
“This is a huge loss to our community,” Barker said at a press conference following the shooting. “It is absolutely clear, and beyond any and all doubt, that the officers were justified in taking their action using deadly force.”
Barker added that while the investigation is in its early stages, it appears Archangel-Ortiz had previous contact with the hospital's ICU earlier in the week for “a medical purpose involving another individual” and he intentionally targeted the workers there.
The officer who died in the shooting was identified as Andrew Duarte of the West York Borough Police Department.
“We all have broken hearts and are grieving at his loss,” West York Borough Manager Shawn Mauck told The Associated Press.
Duarte was a law enforcement veteran who joined the West York Borough Police Department in 2022 after five years with the Denver Police Department in Colorado, according to his LinkedIn profile. He described receiving a “hero award” in 2021 from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his work in impaired driving enforcement for the state of Colorado.
“I have a type A personality and like to succeed in all that I do,” his LinkedIn profile said.
The hospital asked employees who were not scheduled to work Saturday to stay home.
Families of patients arriving on site should report to the parking lot of the OSS building across the street from the hospital, Manko said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro described the attack on police and health care workers as “the act of a coward.”
“Let it not be lost on anyone the act of extraordinary bravery and courage by the health care workers here, by the law enforcement professionals … who ran toward danger to keep people safe,” Shapiro said.
UPMC Memorial is a five-story, 104-bed hospital in York that opened in 2019.