A case of workplace violence turned deadly Friday when a former doctor at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital returned to the hospital and went on a murderous rampage, killing a female doctor and wounding six other people before killing himself.
The New York Times reports that police identified the gunman as 45-year-old Henry Bello, who apparently sneaked an AR-15 rifle into the hospital under a white lab coat. Police are still investigating a motive but suspect it was a disgruntled employee.
Bello was hired at the hospital in August 2014 as a house physician, according to NBC 4, but resigned in February 2015 in lieu of termination. The resignation occurred after Bello was accused of sexual harassment, NYT reports. The publication said Bello also had a criminal past, noting his 2004 arrest on charges of sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment. He later plead guilty to unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor but the felony sexual abuse charge was dismissed.
The names of the victims of Friday’s shooting were not released. Five suffered serious injuries and the sixth person was shot in the leg. CNN reported that several of the victims were doctors at the hospital.
Many hospitals have prepared for active shooters and practiced how to respond to them in the wake of a series of shootings at healthcare facilities in recent years. Last year a shooter entered Parrish Medical Center and shot and killed a 92-year-old patient and her caregiver. In 2015 a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston was killed by a man upset over the recent death of his mother. And earlier this year police were able to stop an armed patient who was intent on killing a number of California oncologists.