Four people, including the gunman, were shot at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, located at 2525 Michigan Avenue. The situation began around 4:15 p.m. ET on Monday, November 19. It appears to have begun as some sort of domestic situation. It’s now been confirmed by the Cook County Medical Examiner and Chicago Police superintendent Eddie Johnson that all four people have died.
Chicago Police confirmed that the people killed included a police officer, two female hospital workers and the gunman. The officer was PO Samuel Jimenez. One of the victims has been identified as the former fiance of the suspected shooter and a doctor at the hospital who was reporting to work for her shift, WLS-TV reports. CBS Chicago reported that her name was Dr. Tamara O’Neal. The third victim was a pharmaceutical assistant at Mercy. The gunman was Juan Lopez, according to CBS Chicago, citing police sources. During a news conference, Superintendent Johnson did not name the gunman or the two female victims.
It’s with profound sadness that we share the death of PO Samuel Jimenez from tonight’s senseless active shooter incident. Please pray for his family, his fellow officers & the entire #ChicagoPolice Department. Supt Eddie Johnson & @ChicagosMayor will hv a press briefing shortly
Without using names, Superintendent Johnson explained that the gunman and the emergency room doctor, Lopez and O’Neal, appeared to be having an argument in the parking lot of the hospital. A friend of hers was reportedly also standing there, in an attempt to intervene in the fight.
Witnesses then saw the gunman reach for a gun and fire several shots at O’Neal. When she was on the ground, he allegedly stood over her and fired at least three times more. The friend ran into the hospital for help.
“I turned around to my right and I see a man shooting someone on the ground”: A man who was waiting for results in Chicago’s Mercy Hospital describes seeing the active shooter there
Police arrived on scene within moments. Johnson said that the gunman fired multiple rounds at the squad cars as police approached. They chased him into Mercy Hospital, where more gunfire was exchanged. It was during this exchange that a third victim, the pharmaceutical assistant, was fatally shot.
Officer Samuel Jimenez was shot as well. The gunman was fatally wounded, but Johnson said it was not immediately clear if the gunman had been shot by police or whether he had turned the gun on himself.
SWAT arrived and conducted a room-by-room search of Mercy Hospital, to make sure there weren’t any more shooters. Patients, staff and visitors had been told to stay in place in hide.
Mercy Hospital later shared on its Twitter account that all remaining patients were safe and that Chicago police have secured the hospital.
Police Activity: Reports of shots fired in the vicinity of 26th and Michigan near Mercy Hospital. Avoid area. Heavy police response incoming
The chief communications officer for the Chicago Police Department, Anthony Guglielmi, first confirmed on Twitter at 4:27 p.m. ET that shots had been fired at the hospital. His initial tweet read: “Police Activity: Reports of shots fired in the vicinity of 26th and Michigan near Mercy Hospital. Avoid area. Heavy police response incoming.”
Tracy Lyons was walking out of the hospital when gunfire erupted
Witness Tracy Lyons spoke with the Chicago Sun-Times. She said she was walking out of the hospital when she heard gunshots. In the video above, she described seeing the gunman exchanging gunfire with responding police officers.
The hospital was evacuated. Family members looking for people who were inside the hospital at the time of the shooting have been told to go to King Drive and 27th street. Police are also asking witnesses to come to the Mercy emergency room to share what they had seen.
LISTEN: Police radio traffic for active shooter incident at Mercy Hospital
Both channels (🎧): t.co/sFWAlKx4vt
Only Zone 4 audio (main incident): t.co/p74LiqZxIY
Only Citywide audio (SWAT, etc): t.co/Q52rYHzn2s
Audio from @CrimeIsDown
You can hear the scanner traffic as the situation unfolded in the tweet above.
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