Tragedy struck at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Northwest Portland Saturday morning when a suspect killed a security officer and injured a hospital employee in a shooting, according to Portland Police Bureau (PPB). The news has made the rounds on most local and national news websites.
The suspect did the shooting and a few hours after fleeing the medical center, the suspect was stopped in a vehicle by police in Gresham. Officers confronted the suspect during the stop. The suspect was shot and killed by officers. None of the police officers were hurt. One other person at the medical center was reported to have been hit by shrapnel.
Close to 11 a.m. on Saturday, officers responded to a report of a person seen with a firearm inside Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. The police arrived after the suspect had done the shooting. The officers searched for the suspect as the medical center was put on lockdown.
The officers learned a little later that a security officer was shot and was given treatment by hospital staff in the Emergency Room. The suspect did the shooting on the 5th floor. This is close to the birthing center inside the medical center. The suspect fled the medical center. More law enforcement responded to assist, including the Special Emergency Response Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team, police said.
Police responded to a tip that the suspect was at the Fred Meyer store. Officers put the store on hig alert and secured the perimeter. The the store was evacuated. All left including employees and customers. They searched the building but did not find the shooter.
The suspect was finally caught outside of a U.S. Bank parking lot in Gresham later that day. There was a standoff. The officers killed the suspect. At press time, the suspect had not been identified and police have not released what led up to the shooting. The injured security guard was transferred to a trauma center where he later died from his injures. Legacy Health identified the security officer as Bobby Smallwood.
