New York Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference outside Bronx Lebanon Hospital Friday afternoon after a former hospital employee went on a shooting spree that left six wounded and one dead before shooting and killing himself.
The New York Police Department responded to reports of shots fired on the 16th floor at 2:55 p.m. after former family doctor Henry Bello entered the hospital wearing a white doctor’s coat and carrying a modified AR-15. Bello reportedly attempted to set himself on fire after killing one female doctor and wounding several other hospital employees. He subsequently committed suicide on the hospital’s 17th floor.
De Blasio described the incident as a “real tragedy” and thanked God that the shooting was not an act of terrorism. He went on to say that multiple doctors were fighting for their lives after the shooting and added that his prayers were with the victims and their families.
The mayor thanked the hospital employees, saying they “responded with extraordinary bravery” and expressed his “profound thanks” for all they did to care for the wounded and to protect the hospital’s patients.
De Blasio was joined by New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill, who echoed de Blasio’s words of support for the hospital employees and described the NYPD’s response to the incident.
The pair indicated that more information would be forthcoming.
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