JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. – A police officer who was responding to a disturbance at Southern Tier Imaging, a health care facility, was killed with his own service weapon Monday by an employee at the campus. The suspect was then fatally shot by another police officer.
Officer David Smith, 43, was dispatched to Southern Tier Imaging at 7:03 a.m., shortly after starting his shift, in response to a disruption at the facility.
An MRI technician, James Clark, 43, became embroiled in an argument with one of his coworkers. During the dispute, Clark grabbed his colleague, shook him and made threats, implying that there was a bomb in the building, Miami Herald reported.
Three minutes after Smith arrived at the scene, Clark struggled with the officer before grabbing Smith’s .40-caliber gun and firing at him twice, PressConnects.com reported.
Smith never had a chance to call in for assistance before he was attacked. The 18-year police veteran died after an hour in emergency surgery.
During the scuffle, another responding officer shot Clark, who died three hours later during surgery.
The suspect, who worked at Southern Tier Imaging since 2005, was considered to be a model employee and had no known mental problems or criminal history. A motive for the shooting has yet to be determined.
Dr. Edward Santelli, president of Park Avenue Associates in Radiology, P.C., Southern Tier Imaging’s parent company, released a statement on the deadly shooting:
“The physicians and staff of Southern Tier Imaging are shocked and saddened by the tragic event that took place this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this senseless act and we would like to express our heartfelt condolences to Officer David Smith and his family. We have been cooperating with the Village of Johnson City Police Department and will continue to work closely with them and all other officers involved in the ongoing investigation of this incident.”
