An unidentified man fired a gun inside the waiting area of an emergency room in a Bronx hospital on Wednesday evening, leaving two hospital workers wounded.
While no one was directly hit, police say the gunman fired at least one shot, leaving a 37-year old nurse and 42-year old security guard wounded from the ricocheted bullets.
Witnesses and police say that prior to the shooting, a man with a gash under his eye had been present in the waiting room to treat an injury after being hit by a chair. The man is believed to have been the intended target of the shooting, which chief spokesman of the NYPD Paul Browne says most likely stemmed from a gang related altercation that had occurred earlier in the day.
The injuries were described as "superficial" and both workers are expected to be released from the hospital.
A witness described the chaotic scene, "All you heard was the ruckus you heard the arguing. You heard the commotion. Next thing you know you heard pop pop, pop pop."
One person expressed their shock over the shooting to NY1:
How can someone be so dangerous and not thoughtful to hurt someone in a hospital? Because this is a place where you come to get cured. You don't come here to get hurt.
A spokesman for the hospital, Errol Schneer, said that security was able to defuse the situation and prevent greater injuries, however The Times reports that the hospital's entrances do not have metal detectors.