Wikipedia The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
A shooting has been reported at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Tweets began filtering in at around 1:45 p.m. on September 12 that there had been gunfire in the hospital’s ICU. The Lebanon Police Department is asking people to avoid the area while roads around the hospital have been closed.
One person, a female patient aged 70 was shot dead during the incident. The suspect is related to her.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Suspect Is in Custody
Lebanon police are on site at DHMC campus. We have no new information at this time, but will share when we do. Thank you.
There are some reports on Twitter that one person has been shot. WMUR reports that there has been no official confirmation of shots fired but the hospital has issued an “active shooter alert.”
Police searching silver Ford SUV at intersection of Mt. Support Rd. via @TimCalWMUR
WMUR, quoting police sources, say that a suspect is in custody.
This was the scene inside Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center during the “Active Shooter” incident. SWAT teams searching. #wmur
The suspect was described, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader, as a six-foot-one man with salt and pepper blonde hair. He was wearing a red camouflage shirt with a camouflage backpack. A 2014 gray Ford Focus with Rhode Island plates is also involved in the investigation.
2. The Hospital Is on Lockdown
Screengrab via WMUR
The hospital has been placed on lockdown with those inside being told to shelter-in-place. Photos on social media show some hospital workers standing around outside the facility. In a statement a hospital spokesman, Mike Barwell, said, “Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon is currently locked down following reports of an active shooter in the hospital. We are assessing the situation now, and will have more information as soon as it becomes available. Lebanon and New Hampshire State police have been alerted and are on-site.”
Schools in the area were also placed on lockdown as a precaution, that lockdown was lifted before 4 p.m. on September 12.
3. Heavily Armed Police Are on Scene
Police converge at intersection of Mt. Summit Rd. just outside DHMC. following active shooter alert.
Reports from the area indicate that heavily armed police are on scene outside the hospital.
4. Officials Are Calling the Incident an ‘Active Investigation’
The Attorney General’s Office and the State Police are responding to an incident at DHMC. An update will be provided when appropriate.
With state police and the attorney general are responding to the incident but are only go so far as to call the incident an “active investigation.”
5. The Hospital Is 1 of Only 3 Level One Trauma Centers in New England
The hospital is one of only three level one trauma centers in New England. It covers 225 acres in the Upper Connecticut River Valley and has 396 beds. The hospital includes New Hampshire’s only air ambulance unit. Construction began on the current facility in 1988 and ended up costing $228 million. It opened on October 5 1991.