Originally published July 2 ┃Updated July 6
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A man is dead, and a woman is injured after shots were fired outside St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in the city’s Hunting Park section Thursday morning. Police said the man was threatening to harm himself.
Police were called to the hospital on Erie Avenue around 10:30 a.m. for a report about a man acting erratically. When they arrived, a security officer told police that the man may be armed, and moments later, police approached the man near the emergency room driveway. Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said that’s when the man, identified as 32-year-old Joseph Smithers, appeared to move back and pull a handgun from his waistband.
Officer Azieme Lindsey, 28, of the 25th District, then fired his gun, striking multiple times and killing Smithers. A 29-year-old woman whom police believe to be the man's girlfriend was grazed in the neck.
Bethel said she was walking around afterwards and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. She is listed in stable but critical condition.
Bethel said Smithers had been asked to leave the hospital on Wednesday because of an unspecified incident. And Thursday morning, he wasn’t allowed in.
“At no time at that point did he threaten the staff or threaten anyone. In fact, they said he was compliant in that process,” Bethel said.
Bethel held an evening press conference on Thursday to dispel the notion that this resembled last month’s fatal shooting at a hospital in Wilmington. He said preliminary investigation indicated Smithers was suicidal. Bethel said his son is being treated at St. Christopher’s, but there was no word on what exactly caused his suicidal ideation.
The hospital was under a temporary lockdown.
Police recovered a gun from the scene. They said it was legally registered to Smithers, and he had a valid Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms.
Lindsey has been placed on administrative duty.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or self-harm, dial 988 for emotional support and crisis prevention.
Officials say he was threatening self-harm
Officials say he was threatening self-harm
