One person was killed and another was injured on Tuesday in a shooting during an altercation at a hospital in Wilmington, Del., drawing a heavy law enforcement response to the downtown and prompting a lockdown there, the authorities said.
The gunfire erupted around 3:30 p.m., according to Chief Wilfredo Campos of the Wilmington Police Department, who spoke at a news conference on Tuesday evening. The police are still searching for the shooter and did not disclose any possible motive, but the lockdown has been lifted. The authorities said they were withholding the condition of the second victim and the names of both victims.
“This has been a terrible day for our city,” Mayor John Carney said at the news conference. The site of the shooting, Wilmington Hospital, is a major trauma center with 321 beds. “If ever there is a place that should be a sanctuary from such violence, that is the place,” he said.
Emergency workers from the city, the county and the state responded to the shooting, officials said, and Mayor Carney praised their lifesaving efforts. “Your work was nothing short of incredible and a tribute to your training and professionalism,” he said.
He added, “One thing I know for sure is that this community will lift one another up in the days ahead.”
Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, said on social media that he was closely monitoring the situation.
“I’m praying for everyone’s safety, including patients, health care workers, first responders, and law enforcement officers,” he wrote on X.
Hospital officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
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