A disgruntled Nigerian medical doctor, Henry Bello, on Friday, barged into the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Centre, New York, United States with an armed rifle, killing one and injuring six others.
According to the New York Police Department, Bello also opened fire on himself and died in the process.
The suspect, aged 45, was found dead on the 17th floor of the facility, the city police told NBC News.
The gunfire was first reported at 3pm on the eighth floor of the hospital and it was immediately placed on lockdown as police launched a floor-by-floor search for the armed intruder.
“This would appear, preliminarily, to be a former employee dressed in a hospital jacket similar to what you would see a doctor wearing, who is familiar with the hospital, which makes the situation a lot more problematic,” officials said, adding that Bello had a rifle, possibly an AR-15 type assault rifle, and had previously worked at the hospital.
Just before 4pm, the Assistant Commissioner for Communication for the NYPD, Peter Donald, announced the search for the suspect was over.
“One shooter is deceased at the hospital,” he said.
Before killing himself, Bello tried to start a fire on the 16th floor that was doused by the hospital’s sprinkler system, a senior official with direct knowledge of the incident said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced in a tweet later that the situation was not an act of terrorism.
Messages on social media spoke of doctors and nurses barricading themselves inside the building. There are also some reports of a fire in the building.
The New York Police Department posted a tweet urging members of the public to avoid the area around the hospital at 1650 Grand Concourse.
The New York Times quoted a fire department official as saying that three doctors had been shot. Their condition is not known.
Some reports say the gunman may have been a former employee but this has not been confirmed.
Emergency medical workers cannot yet enter the building as it has not yet been secured by police.
The fire official told the Times one injured doctor was being treated by people inside the hospital using a fire hose as a tourniquet.