BOSTON – A Boston hospital says a doctor is in surgery after being shot by a gunman who later killed himself.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, says it will not release the victim’s name, at the request of his family.

Police said Tuesday that the gunman entered the hospital’s cardiovascular center and specifically sought out the physician. Police have not yet identified the man who shot the doctor twice before shooting himself.

Police say the doctor sustained life-threatening injuries.

They say the gunman was not a doctor or a patient of the victim. The violence, which happened around 11 a.m., prompted a temporary lockdown of the hospital unit and area roadway and subway closures.

The man shot the doctor twice just outside an examination room in the hospital’s Shapiro building, a cardiovascular care and research center. He then turned the gun on himself. Officers conducting a room-by-room search found the gunman dead in an examination room and recovered the weapon.

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Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said police were trying to determine the motive.

“We’re in the process of talking to witnesses, but it’s leading us to believe there was something in the past that upset this guy, that made him go in and look for this particular doctor,” Evans said.

Police and hospital officials commended the fast response by police and hospital staff, who they said had been trained to respond to an “active shooter” situation.

Evans said police were on the scene within seconds after getting the first calls of shots fired and had the area secured within 15 minutes.

Betsy Nabel, the hospital’s president, said Brigham and Women’s will evaluate its safety protocols. She said there have been no discussions about installing metal detectors, which none of the city’s hospitals have.

Tuesday’s shooting prompted a temporary lockdown at the Shapiro center. Hospital staff were asked to remain in place and the building did not accept new patients.


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