Fired NYC Medicine School Professor Shoots Dean

Police say the shooting appears to be an act of revenge.

A former faculty member at a New York City school of medicine shot and injured two people, including the dean of the school, in a possible act of revenge Aug. 29.

Hengjun Chao, 49, allegedly used a shotgun with buckshot to shoot the men outside of a popular deli in Chappaqua, N.Y., around 7 a.m.

Neither victim’s injury is life threatening and Chao has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, reports the New York Times.

Chao had worked at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine until 2010, when he was “terminated with cause,” according to another Mount Sinai official.

Dr. Dennis S. Charney, the 65-year-old dean at Mount Sinai, was one of the victims. Police have not released the identity of the second victim.

New Castle Police Chief Charles Ferry says Chao was arrested without incident shortly after the shooting. Chao had already put his shotgun back into his car when police arrived. Ferry also says the incident “would seem to be” an act of revenge.

Chao, who was born in China and moved to the U.S. in 1997, began working at Mount Sinai in 2002 as a research assistant professor. After receiving a letter of termination in 2009 for research misconduct, Chao filed a lawsuit against the hospital, naming Dr. Charney specifically.

“This is an extremely disturbing event,” Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, the chief executive of the Mount Sinai Health System, said in a statement. “Fortunately, Dr. Charney’s injuries are not life-threatening, and we expect he will fully recover.”

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