Police: Gunamn shoots doctor, holes up inside room at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore

Gunman shoots doctor, holes up at Johns Hopkins

BALTIMORE — A man shot a doctor and then barricaded himself inside a room at Johns Hopkins hospital, where he remained holed up two hours after the shooting Thursday, police said.

The doctor, who was shot in the stomach, was rushed to surgery and is expected to survive, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

“The doctor will be OK,” Guglielmi said. “He’s in the best place in the world — at Johns Hopkins hospital.”

He said he did not know the relationship between the gunman — described as a man in his 30s — and the doctor. The hospital said in a statement that the doctor is a faculty physician but that it could not release more information because of privacy policies.

A small area of the hospital remained locked down and police were preparing a tactical operation to deal with the gunman, Guglielmi said. However, he said the gunman had not taken any hostages, and people with appointments in other parts of the hospital were encouraged to keep them.

“We’re good at these kind of things, and we’re confident that we’re going to get this situation resolved very soon,” Guglielmi said.

The FBI was assisting Baltimore police, said FBI spokesman Richard J. Wolf.

Hopkins spokesman Gary Stephenson said the affected area was the eighth floor of the Nelson building, the main hospital tower. Guglielmi said the situation was contained to that part of the hospital, and no people were locked in rooms or otherwise in danger.

According to the Hopkins website, the eighth floor is home to orthopedic, spine, trauma and thoracic services.

About a dozen officers wearing vests and helmets and carrying assault weapons prepared to enter the hospital at midday.

The rest of the massive hospital, research and medical education complex remained open, including the emergency department.

With more than 30,000 employees, Johns Hopkins Medicine is among Maryland’s largest private employers and the largest in Baltimore. The hospital has more than 1,000 beds and more than 1,700 full-time doctors.

Associated Press writer Ben Nuckols contributed to this report.