1 person shot dead at Arkansas hospital, 1 in custody

By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — One person was fatally shot Wednesday morning at a Little Rock-area hospital, and authorities have a person in custody in the shooting, police said.

Sherwood Police Chief Jeff Hagar said police found one person dead at CHI St. Vincent North in Sherwood, which was on lockdown as authorities responded to reports of shooting at the hospital

Hagar did not release the name of the victim or the name of a person of interest he said was later taken into custody.

The person of interest was arrested by Little Rock police at a gas station, the department tweeted.

Police did not say whether the person killed was a patient, employee or visitor. A hospital spokesman said the hospital’s lockdown had been lifted Wednesday afternoon.

Sherwood is a city of about 33,000 people located northeast of Little Rock.

Hospital workers could be seen meeting colleagues and loved ones in the parking lot of an Academy Sports store near the medical center. Law enforcement from multiple agencies responded.

The shooting occurred months after four people were shot dead at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital by a gunman who also killed himself. Police said the gunman in that shooting blamed the doctor, who was one of the four victims, for his continuing pain after a recent back operation and bought an AR-style rifle just hours before the rampage.

Experts said that shooting and other incidents highlight the vulnerabilities of health care facilities.

CHI St. Vincent North opened in 1999, and more than 200 physicians and staff work at the facility, according to the hospital’s website.