One man is dead after an exchange of gunfire with police inside the emergency room area of Mount Carmel St Ann’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where he was being treated after being found passed out in his car.
The suspect was discovered by Westerville Police Department, having been passed out in a vehicle earlier today. After WPD called for medical attention, the man was escorted to the Mount Carmel St Ann’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, by police, as it was discovered that he had warrants out for domestic violence charges, and a weapons under disability warrant from Franklin County.
At around 2:22 PM, Columbus Police received an “officer in trouble” call at the hospital. The suspect had had a gun on them, and after after CPD arrived, there was an exchange of gunfire in the emergency room area, with “several shots fired,” including confirmed shots from a CPD officer. Police officers from the WPD, CPD, and security officers from the hospital were all present at the time. According to Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler, it is not known whether a search for a weapon on the suspect had been conducted.
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Following the exchange of fire, the suspect was critically wounded, and taken to the nearby trauma bay, where he was pronounced dead at 2:46 PM. Nobody else but the suspect was hurt, with the hospital and the police wanting to make it clear to anyone who needed to seek treatment that the building is now safe. “This is another example that this type of thing can happen anywhere,” Chandler told news crews. “Obviously it is traumatic.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is currently investigating the shooting, rather than the WPD, who have jurisidiction over the area. It is not clear at this time the exact circumstances that led up to the shooting. The name of the deceased suspect has also not yet been released.