Hospital Gunman Was Told His Wife Couldn't Be Saved

The gunman who took a Pennsylvania hospital's ICU staff hostage before killing a police officer and injuring five others was devasted after hearing there was nothing more to be done to save his wife, a terminally-ill patient in the same ICU. Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49, had become irate in the intensive care unit of UPMC Memorial Hospital in York on Friday evening and had to be removed, a law enforcement official tells CNN. He returned the following morning around 10:35am—with a gun, zip ties, and duct tape concealed in a backpack, the official says. He was killed about 40 minutes later in a shootout with police, per the York Dispatch.

A day later, a physician assistant at the hospital described developing a "human connection" with Archangel-Ortiz while "interacting with him multiple days." "I was there when we delivered the worst news imaginable to him—that his loved one was gone," Lester Mendoza wrote on Facebook. "In that moment, I truly did not see a monster. He was simply broken," he added, saying the shooting was an indication of a healthcare system "crumbling under neglect." "Grief, exhaustion, isolation, and a lack of mental health and social support services create cracks that people fall through," Mendoza wrote. "And when they do, the consequences can be catastrophic."

Hospital security officers called for backup after the gunman fired at them, said York County District Attorney Tim Barker, per the AP. Dozens of officers arrived at the ICU to find the shooter pointing his weapon at a staff member, whose hands were bound with zip ties. He ordered police out of the unit before entering a hallway with his hostage. He was then shot and killed. Three police officers were shot, including 30-year-old West York Borough police officer Andrew Duarte, who died of injuries to his torso. An ICU doctor, nurse, and custodian also suffered gunshot wounds. A fourth hospital employee was injured in a fall. As of Sunday, all employees were "progressing in their recovery," the hospital said. (More shooting stories.)