http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Mercy-Fitzgerald-Hospital-on-Lockdown-268489642.htmlA female case worker has been killed and a doctor shot after a patient opened fire on them inside a wellness center on the campus of a Delaware County, Pennsylvania hospital. Officials believe that suspect was shot by the doctor who returned fire from his own gun.
The shootout took place inside a doctor's office in the psychiatric unit at the Sister Marie Lenahan Wellness Center located along the 1500 block of Lansdowne Avenue in Darby, Pa., officials say. That's located across from Mercy-Fitzgerald hospital, on its campus.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan says the male suspect, identified as Richard Plotts, of Upper Darby, had come to the unit with his 53-year-old case worker. They then went behind closed doors in the doctor's third floor office when a confrontation occurred. Plotts, who has "psychiatric issues," pulled out a gun and started firing, Whelan said.
Both the doctor and the case worker were hit by the gunfire. The woman was killed and the doctor grazed in the head, Whelan said.
The DA said preliminary information shows the doctor also pulled out his weapon and fired upon the suspect.
Other doctors and case workers then rushed into the office and tackled the man to the ground, wrestling with him for the weapon, Whelan said.
“We’re not exactly sure what had occurred and what might have precipitated this particular incident," Whelan said. "We do know the psychiatric connection, we have that concern, however we don’t know if there was another dispute that occurred inside that room that led to these shots being fired."
Both Plotts and the doctor were taken to the trauma center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in nearby Philadelphia. The suspect is in surgery and is listed in critical condition, Whelan said. The doctor's condition has not been released.
The Delaware County Prosecutor's Office says a 911 call came in at 2:19 p.m. with the caller saying a doctor had been shot. The center and hospital was quickly placed on lockdown as police swarmed the campus.
Allen Williams was checking in his father for an X-ray on the center's ground floor when the shooting happened.
"As we were giving the information, they said the hospital is on lockdown and they locked out the doors. They told us to sneak out the back door," he said. “I was hoping everyone was going to get out safe."
Williams slowly led his father, who uses a walker, in a group of 15 people onto a grassy area outside the building. He says police are keeping them at the scene as they check the building.
Police evacuated the wellness center and SWAT officers swept the building as a precaution.
A large police presence from Yeadon, Haverford Township and other Delaware County law enforcement agencies remains on the scene.
The Sister Marie Lenahan Wellness Center has physician offices and offers outpatient services for ambulatory care, audiology, cardiac rehabilitation, radiology and hearing and balance, according to the health system's website.
