A police officer was killed Saturday after responding to a shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital located just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where a gunman took several hostages and injured at least five other people before he was shot dead.
West York Borough police officer Andrew Duarte died on the scene. The gunman was identified by authorities as 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel Ortiz. No motive for the shooting has been released.
Authorities responded to the incident at around 11 a.m. ET Saturday, and police radio calls later reported that at least two officers were shot and the shooter was down.
“This morning police responded to UPMC hospital in West Manchester Township for an active threat. The threat has now been neutralized. And an investigation is underway,” said Ted Czech, the public information officer for York County’s Office of Emergency Management.
Speaking at an afternoon press conference York County District Attorney Tim Barker said Archangel-Ortiz entered the hospital carrying a bag that included a handgun and zip ties and proceeded to head to the Intensive Care Unit.
“(Archangel-Ortiz) went and held hostage members of the UPMC staff. In total, he wound up discharging his firearm and struck three members of the UPMC staff,” Barker said. “One was a doctor who was grazed, the other was a nurse and a custodian who are in stable condition at this time.”
UPMC confirmed that no patients were physically harmed. At least three medical staff and two other law enforcement were struck by gunfire. All of those wounded are in stable condition.
Duarte was a law enforcement veteran who joined the West York Borough Police Department in 2022 after five years with the Denver Police Department in Colorado, according to Duarte’s LinkedIn profile.
Local and federal law enforcement are on the scene investigating.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro described the attack on police and health care workers as “the act of a coward,” and commended the life of Duarte.
“Tonight, we pray for this community, and especially for the Duarte family, a life cut short, but a life of service and meaning and purpose,” Shapiro said. “And I offer my blessings and that of my wife, Larry, our First Lady, our family and the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
There have been several shooting incidents at medical centers and hospitals in recent years. According to the CDC, American healthcare workers are some of the most likely to suffer non-fatal injuries compared to other professions.
Samantha Wei contributed.
