Two female hospital workers were also killed by the shooter, who also died …
Three people, including a policeman, were shot dead during a gunfight occurred Monday near a hospital in Chicago, in what amounts to a personal dispute, announced the US authorities.
“Three innocent victims and the cowardly shooter, who does not deserve to be named, were killed tonight,” police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote on Twitter.
UPDATE – Three innocent victims and the cowardly gunman who deserves to be nameless were killed tonight. https://t.co/maPDyuQi3Z
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) November 20, 2018
“We have four dead people: a police officer, two female hospital workers and the criminal,” Chicago police chief Eddie Johnson told a news conference.
A verbal altercation
According to the authorities, a little before 15:30 local (22:30, French time) Monday, there was a verbal altercation between individuals who knew each other in the parking lot of Mercy Hospital. A man shot his partner, an employee of the establishment. When the police arrived, the man entered the hospital. During an exchange of fire with the police, another employee and a member of the police force were killed.
The gunman also died, although the authorities could not confirm whether he had committed suicide or whether he had been killed by the police. Earlier in the day, the police spokesman said there had been “shooting … around the Mercy hospital,” calling on the population to avoid the area.
More murders in Chicago than in New York and Los Angeles together
An employee of the hospital told the Chicago Tribune that all staff had been ordered to lock themselves and then leave. “I do not know what happened,” she added, being evacuated by bus. “We were told to run, so we ran. According to local media, several patients have left the premises, sometimes in wheelchairs.
Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, is plagued by endemic violence linked to gang warfare and drug trafficking. In 2017, 675 murders were recorded, more than in New York and Los Angeles cumulated. 2,785 shootings were also recorded there, according to the statistics of the local police.