PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) — Police say a former Florida hospital worker who fired shots inside the building has committed suicide. No other injuries were reported.
Police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez says the man was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot Thursday at Palm Bay Hospital, about an hour east of Orlando. The man had barricaded himself in a room after firing shots in the food-preparation area of the cafeteria.
Hospital spokesman Elliot Cohen says the gunman worked at the hospital about two years until he was fired last month. He says the man had a poor attendance record. Officials have not released his name or his former position at the hospital.
The facility was never evacuated because the part of the hospital the man was barricaded was isolated.
THIS WAS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Read earlier versions below.
PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) — A man who was recently fired from a Florida hospital fired shots inside its cafeteria Thursday and then barricaded himself alone in an office, authorities said. No one was injured.
The man was threatening people and pointing the gun at them inside the cafeteria at Palm Bay Hospital before he took shelter in a room, Palm Bay police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said. SWAT team members and a crisis negotiation team were trying to communicate with the gunman.
Hospital spokesman Elliot Cohen said the man was recently fired from the hospital, about an hour east of Orlando on Florida's Space Coast. He said there were no evacuations because the part of the hospital the man was barricaded in is isolated.
"We know who he is," Cohen said.
The streets leading up to and around the hospital were shut down by police, and some patients' family and friends gathered outside searching for information.
There also was a bomb squad on scene with a robot.
THIS WAS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Read earlier version below.
PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) — A spokesman says a gunman who has barricaded himself inside a Florida hospital is a recently fired worker.
Police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez says the gunman fired shots at Palm Bay Hospital in Brevard County, about an hour east of Orlando, and then barricaded himself in a room Thursday. Martinez says there are no injuries and the gunman is alone.
Hospital spokesman Elliot Cohen says the gunman used to work at the hospital. He says there have been no evacuations because the part of the hospital the man is barricaded in is isolated.
SWAT team members and a crisis negotiation team are at the hospital.
Police say the man was threatening people and pointing the gun at them inside the cafeteria before he took shelter in a room. It's unclear when the shots were fired.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
