Ex-fiance kills doctor

A GUNMAN shot dead a doctor outside a Chicago hospital before entering the facility and killing a pharmaceutical assistant and a police officer in an exchange of gunfire in which he died, officials say.

The shooter knew the doctor he shot outside Mercy Hospital, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said yesterday, describing that killing as an act of domestic violence.

The gunman was the for- mer fiance of the doctor, media reported, with one witness saying he demanded a ring back.

The shooting sent doctors and patients streaming out of the facility, some with their hands up as armed police sought to secure the hospital.

“The city of Chicago lost a doctor, a pharmaceutical assistant and a police officer, all going about their day, all doing what they love,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.

“This tears at the soul of our city. It is the face and consequence of evil.”

The gunman, after killing the doctor, fired at arriving police officers with a single handgun, Supt Johnson said.

He said the gunman, whose name had not been released, then burst into the hospital. Officers followed him inside and exchanged gunfire with him for several minutes.

Officer Samuel Jimenez, who joined the Chicago police force last year, died in the gun fight, officials said. The 28year-old was married with children and the second Chicago officer killed in the line of duty this year.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that all of those officers who responded were heroes and they saved a lot of lives, because we just don’t know how much damage he (the gunman) was prepared to do,” Supt Johnson said.

In a sign of the random nature of the rampage, the pharmacy assistant shot happened to be getting off an elevator, Supt Johnson said. Her name has not been released.

Media identified the doctor killed outside the hospital as Tamara O’Neal.

The gunman also died but it was not immediately clear if he shot himself or was struck by a police officer’s bullet, Supt Johnson said.

Another officer was spared injury when a bullet lodged in his holster.

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