If the patient who shot and killed a caseworker at a medical facility in suburban Philadelphia survives, the prosecutor plans to bring him up on murder charges.
Authorities are trying to determine why a man identified as a patient fatally shot a caseworker at a hospital complex in a Philadelphia suburb and whether a psychiatrist who pulled out his own gun and wounded the patient had concerns about him.
A spokeswoman for the Mercy Health System said the hospital has a policy barring anyone except on-duty law enforcement officers from carrying weapons on its campus.
But Yeadon Police Chief Donald Molineux said that "without a doubt, I believe the doctor saved lives."
"Without that firearm, this guy (the patient) could have went out in the hallway and just walked down the offices until he ran out of ammunition," the chief said.
It's a good thing that the shrink ignored hospital policy and packed a weapon of his own. As the saying goes, "An armed society is a polite society."
Now, before Peter or other naysayers leap in to conclude that I favor the idea of folks walking around with an AR-15, let me say up front that while it may be legal, it's also stupid. However, deliberately creating "gun-free zones" is equally stupid.
Yes, the doctor violated hospital policy. He also, according to law enforcement officers, undoubtedly saved lives by doing so; critically wounding the assailant, which allowed other staff to bring him down and secure his weapon until police arrived.
When seconds count, police are only minutes away.
