The gunman was killed after a shootout with police.
A Chicago police officer, a doctor and pharmaceutical assistant were all killed when a gunman stormed Mercy Hospital Monday afternoon.
The gunman, identified by police as 32-year-old Juan Lopez, was reportedly upset over a “broken engagement” and confronted his ex-fiancee, 38-year-old Dr. Tamara O’Neal, in the parking lot of her job, shooting her multiple times.
Officers were called to the hospital after the reported shooting and Officer Samuel Jimenez, a father of three, was gunned down by the suspect in the lobby as he made his way into the hospital.
“When they pulled up, they heard the gunshots, and they did what heroic officers always do — they ran toward that gunfire,” Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a press conference. “So they weren't assigned to that particular call, but they went because that's what we do."
Dayna Less, a 25-year-old pharmacy resident, was walking out of an elevator when she was shot, according to reports. Lopez was found dead of a gunshot wound after the rampage, but it is unclear if it was self-inflicted or from an exchange of gunfire with police.
A witness told CNN he saw the suspect firing at police outside the hospital.
“We heard some shots so we all ran to the emergency window, we see this guy out there, military-style, shooting at the police — pow, pow, pow," Steven White said.
Staff at the hospital quickly began grabbing patients out of their rooms, the New York Times reported. At least 20 people witnessed the shooting who were sitting in the emergency room, according to reports.
Police said many more lives could have been lost had authorities not responded when they did, but the city is mourning those who lost their lives.
“That’s a moment we all fear. The city of Chicago lost a doctor, a pharmaceutical assistant, and a police officer all going about their day, all doing what they love,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “This tears at the soul of our city. It is the face and the consequence of evil.”
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