Police: Man shot in ER waiting area at Jacobi Hospital

By Aundrea Cline-Thomas

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — A man seeking medical treatment on Tuesday afternoon was shot inside of Jacobi Medical Center.

Police are still searching for the gunman, CBS2’s Aundrea Cline-Thomas reported.

“I’m visiting my mother, saying goodbyes, and I hear ‘active shooter,’” hospital visitor David Rivera said.

“I didn’t see anything. I just heard and ran, heard and ran, heard and ran,” patient Christopher Betances added.

What Betances heard were gunshots in the waiting area of Jacobi Medical Center’s emergency room at around 12:30 p.m.

“I heard the first one and I ran into a room. I barricaded myself,” Betances said.

He barricaded himself inside of a patient room with others as police responded, blocking the entrances to the hospital. However, the gunman was already gone.

According to the NYPD, the 35-year-old victim came to seek treatment. The suspect was waiting to speak to a hospital representative.

Police said there were at least looks exchanged, but maybe not even words before the suspect fired four shots, striking the victim once in the left forearm.

“We heard the commotion and everybody started running and we didn’t know what was going on. We heard someone had gotten shot and we couldn’t believe it because we are at a hospital,” visitor Nancy Rivera said.

Police said the gunman was wearing all black. The handful of staff, patients and visitors who witnessed the whole ordeal were unharmed.

“Just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you have a right to terrorize our communities. I’m m telling you to stop it. This is a hospital. This is someone getting care in emergency. How dare you,” City Councilwoman Marjorie Velazquez said.

NYC Health + Hospitals released a statement, which said, in part, “This was a cowardly act in a space where New Yorkers come for healing and care. Our health care heroes swiftly took care of the shooting victim and took actions to protect the other patients in the waiting room. Our immediate focus is on caring for the patient and ensuring the safety of our staff. We are working closely with the NYPD as they conduct their investigation.”

Jacobi joined a growing list of crime scenes in the city, as detectives are left to piece together what happened.

The victim is expected to recover. Meanwhile, police are going through all of the video in the hospital to see where the suspect fled. They are also driving around, canvassing the neighborhood.

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