Bronx-Lebanon Hospital attack

Last updated

Bronx-Lebanon Hospital attack
Location Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center,
1650 Grand Concourse,
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Coordinates 40°50′37″N73°54′39″W / 40.843546°N 73.910834°W / 40.843546; -73.910834
DateJune 30, 2017
c. 2:45pm (EDT)
TargetHospital staff
Attack type
Weapons .223-caliber Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 semi-automatic rifle
Deaths2 (including the perpetrator)
Injured6
PerpetratorHenry Michael Bello

On June 30, 2017, at around 2:45 p.m. EDT, a doctor opened fire at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in the Bronx, New York City, United States, killing a doctor on the 17th floor and wounding six people on the 16th floor with an AR-15-type semi-automatic rifle. The shooter was later identified as 45-year-old Nigerian-born Dr. Henry Michael Bello, a family physician formerly employed by the hospital.

Contents

Background

Dr. David Lazala, a graduate of the family medical residency program and current faculty member, told the Associated Press that he was one of the physicians training Bello, who sent Lazala a threatening email after being fired. He took Friday off and was reportedly the target of the attack. Dr. Maureen Kwankam said she fired Bello after two years of employment. [1] Kwankam further stated "We fired him because he was kind of crazy. He promised to come back and kill us then." [2]

Hours before the shooting, Bello sent an e-mail to the New York Daily News , making various accusations in regards to his firing, stating "First, I was told it was because I always kept to myself. Then it was because of an altercation with a nurse. Then I was told, it was because I threatened a colleague." Bello blamed a specific doctor for blocking his career progress and costing him $400,000. [3]

Incident

Dr. Tracy Tam was shot and killed on the 17th floor of the hospital. Tam was randomly targeted, according to Dr. Sridhar Chilimuri, the hospital chief. Bello intended to kill the doctor who had cost him his job by accusing him of sexual harassment. Tam, who normally worked in the clinic, was asked to cover a shift of a physician who was out. [4]

Six others (three doctors, two medical students and a patient) were injured. The most seriously wounded was a doctor shot in the knee and brain, who underwent several hours of surgery on-site and was sent to Mt. Sinai Hospital for further care. The other two doctors were shot in the neck and abdomen, one student was shot in the hand and the patient had an unspecified minor injury. [5] [6] [7]

The New York City Police Department said Bello committed suicide after barricading himself inside with a rifle and setting himself on fire and shooting himself in the head. [8] [9]

Victims

Tracy Tam, DO, a family medicine physician and graduate of Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, was killed.

Justin Timperio, MD, a first year family medicine resident and a graduate of the American University of the Caribbean, was shot and sustained injuries to the liver, stomach, intestines, and lung. [10] Oluwafunmike Ojewoye, MD, a second year family medicine resident and a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine sustained a neck gunshot wound. [11] A gastroenterology fellow doing a consult sustained a hand gunshot wound.[ clarification needed ] Two medical students from Ross University School of Medicine were shot, one to the head and knee. A patient was also injured and was listed in stable condition while the others were deceased or in critical condition. Timperio was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, according to his father, Luciano Timperio, an oral surgeon from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada; the senior Timperio blamed the lack of medical school positions in Ontario for his son's injuries. [12] [13] [14]

Perpetrator

Bello (born Henry Williams Obotetukudo [15] ) had formerly worked for the hospital. [16] He had resigned from the hospital amid a sexual harassment complaint two years prior. [17] He was a graduate of Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica and was formerly a pharmacy technician in California. [5] He worked as a night shift doctor at the hospital while trying to be admitted into the family medical residency program.

Aftermath

Bello killed himself on the 16th floor of the hospital after the attack. In March 2018, Timperio filed a lawsuit against Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center and a gun dealer who sold Bello a modified AR-15. [18] [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacobi Medical Center</span> Hospital in New York, United States

Jacobi Medical Center is a municipal hospital operated by NYC Health + Hospitals in affiliation with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The facility is located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. It is named in honor of German physician Abraham Jacobi, who is regarded as the father of American pediatrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Brooklyn Bridge shooting</span> Shooting attack on Jewish Americans

On March 1, 1994, Lebanese-born Rashid Baz shot at a van of 15 Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish students who were traveling on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, killing one and injuring three others. Initially considered a road rage incident, in 2005, this shooting was reclassified as a terrorist attack.

On April 3, 2009, a mass shooting occurred at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York. At approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT, Jiverly Antares Wong, a 41-year-old naturalized American citizen who was ethnically Chinese from Vietnam, entered the facility and killed thirteen people and wounded four others before committing suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Empire State Building shooting</span> Shooting on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York City

On February 23, 1997, Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, a 69-year-old Palestinian teacher, opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in New York City. The gunman killed one person and wounded six others before taking his own life with a gunshot to the head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BronxCare Hospital System</span> Hospital in New York, United States

The BronxCare Health System, previously known as "Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center," is a hospital in the Bronx, New York City. It was founded as the Lebanon Hospital by Jonas Weil in 1890. In 1962, Lebanon Hospital merged with Bronx Hospital, and since 2016, the combined center has served as a teaching hospital for Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Empire State Building shooting</span> Criminal incident in New York City

On August 24, 2012, a gunman shot and killed a former co-worker outside the Empire State Building in New York City. Following the initial shooting, the gunman, 58-year-old Jeffrey T. Johnson, was fatally shot by police officers after raising his weapon at them. Nine bystanders were wounded by stray bullets fired by the officers and ricocheting debris, but none suffered life-threatening injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Santa Monica shootings</span> Shooting spree in Santa Monica, California, US

On June 7, 2013, a spree shooting occurred in Santa Monica, California. Its catalyst was a domestic dispute and subsequent fire at a home, followed by a series of shootings near and on the Santa Monica College campus. Six people were killed, including the suspect, and four injured. The shooter—23-year-old John Zawahri—was killed by police officers when he exchanged gunfire with them at the Santa Monica College library.

On November 1, 2013, a terrorist attack occurred at around 9:20 a.m. PDT in Terminal 3 of the Los Angeles International Airport. 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia opened fire with a rifle, killing a Transportation Security Administration officer and injuring several other people.

On the morning of August 26, 2015, news reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward, both employees of CBS affiliate WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia, United States, were fatally shot while conducting a live television interview near Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta. They were interviewing Vicki Gardner, executive director of the local chamber of commerce, when all three were attacked by a gunman in a mass shooting. Parker, age 24, and Ward, age 27, died at the scene, while Gardner survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Umpqua Community College shooting</span> 2015 mass shooting in Roseburg, Oregon, US

A shooting occurred on October 1, 2015, at the Umpqua Community College campus near Roseburg, Oregon, United States. Chris Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student who was enrolled at the school, fatally shot an assistant professor and eight students in a classroom, and injured eight others. Roseburg police detectives responded to the incident and engaged Harper-Mercer in a brief shootout. After being wounded, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The mass shooting is the deadliest in Oregon's modern history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Las Vegas shooting</span> Deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history

On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting occurred when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada from his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel. He fired more than 1,000 rounds, killing 60 people and wounding at least 413. The ensuing panic brought the total number of injured to approximately 867. About an hour later, he was found dead in his room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The motive for the shooting is officially undetermined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho Tehama shootings</span> 2017 shooting spree in Rancho Tehama, California, US

On November 13–14, 2017, a series of shootings occurred in Rancho Tehama, an unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, U.S. The gunman, 44-year-old Kevin Janson Neal, died by suicide after a Corning police officer rammed and stopped his stolen vehicle. During the shooting spree, five people were killed and eighteen others were injured at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school. Ten people suffered bullet wounds and eight were cut by flying glass caused by the gunfire. The injured victims were transported to several area clinics and hospitals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdeen, Maryland shooting</span> 2018 Mass shooting in Aberdeen, Maryland

On September 20, 2018, four people were shot and killed outside a Rite Aid distribution center in Aberdeen, Maryland, United States. The shooting occurred 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Baltimore. This was the eighth mass shooting in Maryland in 2018, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercy Hospital shooting</span> 2018 mass shooting in Chicago, Illinois

On November 19, 2018, a mass shooting took place at the Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. An attending physician at the hospital, a police officer, and a pharmacy resident were killed. The gunman, later identified as Juan Lopez, the ex-fiancé of one of the victims, later died in a shootout with other responding officers.

On June 1, 2022, Michael Louis opened fire in the Natalie Building, part of the Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. He killed four people, three of whom were hospital staff, and injured an unspecified number of others before committing suicide.

References

  1. ↑ "The Latest: Ex-colleague says hospital gunman was a problem". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Bronx hospital: Ex-employee gunman 'quit after accusation'". BBC News . July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ Liddy, Tom (July 1, 2017). "Bronx hospital gunman sent email to newspaper before shooting". ABC News . Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ Glorioso, Chris; Aliyu, Wale (June 30, 2017). "Doctor Killed in Shooting at Bronx Lebanon Hospital Identified: NYPD". NBC New York. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Nir, Sarah Maslin (June 30, 2017). "Doctor Opens Fire at Bronx Hospital, Killing a Doctor and Wounding 6". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  6. ↑ "New York hospital: Ex-employee opens fire in Bronx". BBC News. June 30, 2017. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Mark, Michelle; Abadi, Mark (July 1, 2017). "At least 2 dead, including gunman, after shooting at New York City's Bronx-Lebanon hospital". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Bronx hospital: Ex-employee gunman 'quit after accusation'". BBC News. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  9. ↑ Gamble, Molly (July 3, 2017). "Shooting at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital: 9 things to know". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  10. ↑ Fox, Chris (July 2, 2017). "One of victims in Bronx hospital shooting was raised in London". CP24. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  11. ↑ Greene, Leonard (July 3, 2017). "Doctor wounded by Bronx hospital shooter staying strong during recovery". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  12. ↑ Thorne, Kristin (July 2, 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Father of Bronx hospital shooting victim speaks out". Abc7ny.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Canadian among injured in NYC hospital shooting". CTV News. July 2, 2017. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ Gignac, Julien (July 2, 2017). "Medical resident hurt in U.S. hospital shooting is from Ontario" . Toronto Star. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  15. ↑ Foderaro, Lisa W. (July 1, 2017). "For Gunman at Bronx Hospital, Fleeting Success and Persistent Strife". The New York Times . Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  16. ↑ "New York Bronx-Lebanon Hospital shooter identified as Nigerian". Africanews. July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  17. ↑ Parascandola, Rocco; Goldberg, Noah; Fanelli, James (June 30, 2017). "What we know about Bronx Lebanon Hospital shooter Henry Bello". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  18. ↑ Otterman, Sharon (March 6, 2018). "Bronx Hospital Shooting Victim Calls for Limiting Sales of AR-15s". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  19. ↑ Gignac, Julien (March 6, 2018). "Canadian injured in New York hospital shooting files lawsuit against hospital, gun shop". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.