A doctor who was forced to resign from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in 2015 shot and killed another doctor and injured six other staff members on Friday.
The suspect, 45-year-old Dr. Henry Bello, hid the AR-15 he was carrying under his lab coat, walked past security, entered Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center and searched for a former colleague. When Bello learned that his target wasn’t there, he opened fire anyway, killing another doctor, 32-year-old Tracy Sin-Yee Tam, who was covering a shift as a favor, reports ABC News.
Six others were injured during the attack, having been shot in the head, chest or abdomen. The suspect then attempted to set himself on fire and then fatally shot himself.
While all of this was happening, employees scattered, locking themselves and patients inside rooms as the hospital announced there was an armed intruder inside the facility, reports the Associated Press.
Nurses and physicians risked their own lives to find and treat the victims and move them to safety, reports CNN. Officials say these efforts saved lives.
Additionally, hospital staff had been trained on active shooter response and lockdown, which they applied during the shooting.
The attack happened on the 15th and 16th floors of the hospital.
Two years ago, the suspect worked at Bronx-Lebanon for about six months as a house physician but was forced to resign from the hospital amid sexual harassment allegations. At the time, Bello warned his colleagues that he would come back some day and kill them, reports ABC News.
Bello had a history of run-ins with the law, including pleading guilty in 2004 for lifting up a woman and carrying her off. In 2009, he was arrested for unlawful surveillance for trying to look up two women’s skirts with a mirror. He also had financial troubles and had lived in shelters at least twice.
Since being forced to resign from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, the suspect had been working for New York City’s HIV/AIDS Service Administration, reports localsyr.com. He stopped reporting to his job on April 11 and was officially terminated June 21. The city had run a background check on him, but it did not report his 2004 plea because the charge didn’t disqualify him from the job.
Approximately two hours before the shooting, Bello sent an email to the Daily News, blaming Bronx-Lebanon for ruining is career over “bogus complaints,” reports Newsday.
The doctor who was the original target told officials that the suspect would frequently get into arguments with nurses and other staff members.
The shooting is being investigated as a case of workplace violence, reports NBC New York.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
