2 SLAIN AT HOSP
Dallas cops wound parolee ‘gunman’
A parolee with an ankle monitor opened fire inside a Dallas hospital Saturday morning, killing two nurses before responding cops wounded him, law-enforcement officials said.
Nestor Hernandez, 30, killed two caregivers at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, police allege.
He was on parole for aggravated robbery and is now facing capitalmurder charges, cops said.
The nurses worked in the Labor and Delivery Department, tweeted Charley Wilkison, CEO of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas.
The shooting happened at about 11 a.m., according to hospital spokesperson Ryan Owens.
“A Methodist Health System police officer arrived on the scene, confronted the suspect and fired his weapon at the suspect, injuring him,” Owens said.
The suspect was detained, stabilized and taken to another hospital, according to Owens.
It was unclear what led to the shooting or if the suspected gunman was specifically targeting the nurses, reports said.
‘Abhorrent failure’
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia called the shooting “an abhorrent failure of our criminal justice system.”
“Our thoughts are with staff and victims of today’s events,” he wrote. “We will do EVERYTHING to assist in this investigation.”
A woman visiting her mother at the hospital told FOX 4 she received a call from her father, who barricaded himself in the room.
“He said ‘there’s a shooter in the building,’ ” Denise Jones told the Dallas TV station.
“He said ‘get back in your car and get as far away from the hospital as you can.’ ”
A planned tour with breast-cancer survivors of the hospital’s new Linda and Mitch Hart Breast Center was canceled, FOX 4 reported.
The victims’ identities were not immediately released.
“The Methodist Health System family is heartbroken at the loss of two of our beloved team members,” a statement from the system’s leadership said.
“Our entire organization is grieving this unimaginable tragedy. During this devastating time, we want to ensure our patients and employees that Methodist Dallas Medical Center
is safe, and there is no ongoing threat.”
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said, “I am praying tonight for the loved ones and colleagues of the two nurses at Methodist Dallas Medical Center who were violently and senselessly taken from us.”
‘Health-care heroes’
He added, “Our city loves our health-care heroes, and our residents will be there for them as we grieve and seek swift justice.”
Dallas police referred questions to hospital police, who did not return a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The Dallas shooting follows a June hospital shooting in Tulsa, Okla., that left four dead, and September hospital shooting in Little Rock, Ark., that left one dead. With Wires