A tragic shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, left a police officer dead and five others injured after a gunman took medical staff hostage and opened fire. Continue reading for more details.
Chaos unfolded at UPMC Memorial Hospital when a gunman stormed the ICU, taking staff members hostage before engaging in a deadly shootout with police.
The violence resulted in the death of West York Borough Police Officer Andrew Duarte, a six-year veteran of law enforcement, and left multiple individuals wounded. The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel Ortiz, was also killed in the confrontation.
Authorities reported that Ortiz entered the hospital carrying a bag containing a handgun and zip ties before heading straight to the ICU.
UPMC took to Facebook to share confirmation of reports of a gunman being present and shots being fired. He held staff hostage and prevented officers from breaching the unit by threatening to kill one of the hostages.
When he later emerged into the hallway with a hospital worker still at gunpoint, officers opened fire, killing Ortiz. Two additional law enforcement officers suffered gunshot wounds and are in stable condition. A doctor, a nurse, and a custodian were also shot, while a fourth hospital employee was injured during the chaos.
Officials believe the attack was specifically targeted at the ICU, as Ortiz had been in contact with the department in the previous week regarding a medical matter involving another individual.
Officer Duarte, who, according to reports, was 29 when he died, had served in law enforcement for six years. Before joining the West York Borough Police Department, he spent five years with the Denver Police Department, where he specialized in DUI and drug recognition enforcement.
Duarte was highly regarded in his field, earning the MADD Hero Award in 2021 for his work in impaired driving enforcement. The West York Borough Police Department honored his sacrifice, encouraging the community to lay flowers on the steps of the police department in his memory.
“Our community grieves the loss of a hero,” the department shared on Facebook. “We ask that the community come together in solidarity, respect, and prayer at this time as broken hearts mourn.”
