Argument at hospital leads to fatal shooting

A man who fatally shot his ex-fiancee outside a Chicago hospital before killing two people inside the building was the subject of a protection order request filed four years ago by another woman, yet he had legally purchased several guns in recent years, police said Tuesday.

The gunman, Juan Lopez, who also died following the shooting Monday at Mercy Hospital, had been engaged to Dr. Tamara O’neal before he repeatedly shot the emergency room doctor near a hospital parking lot, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

Investigators said he continued shooting O’neil after she fell to the ground and, after running into the hospital, killed a police officer and a pharmacy worker.

Guglielmi said another woman complained in 2014 that Lopez was incessantly texting her and refused to stop. He said the woman called police and sought an order of protection from a judge, but it’s unclear whether she was granted such an order. Lopez was not criminally charged.

Guglielmi also said Lopez had a permit to possess a concealed firearm, but it’s unclear if officials knew about the 2014 complaint when the permit was granted. He said Lopez had legally purchased four guns in the last five years and worked for the Chicago Housing Authority.

O’neal had recently broken off their engagement when she was fatally shot by Lopez near the hospital on Chicago’s South Side, Guglielmi said. Police said it’s unclear whether Lopez shot himself or was fatally shot by police.