Police in a northern suburb of Detroit confirmed Thursday there has been a shooting at a local hospital, calling it an isolated incident.
The Troy Police Department said in a message posted on social media that the shooting occurred at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital and the suspect was not in custody. Police asked the public to avoid the area. There was a large police presence at the facility, which includes multiple structures.
In a post on X, Corewell Health said “one person is in the emergency department of medical treatment,” with no further explanation.
The message from Troy police did not say whether there were any injuries or fatalities. A police dispatcher said she could not provide any further information.
Local residents received an emergency message on their phones Thursday morning, alerting them about an active shooter and advising them to avoid the area around the hospital and to shelter in place. WXYZ-TV interviewed one woman who was sheltering on the first floor of the hospital with other patients who were scheduled to get mammograms.
A city of more than 87,000, Troy is located about 22 miles (35 kilometers) north of Detroit.
Last month, in York, Pennsylvania, a man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties took hospital staff in the intensive care unit hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an officer dead, officials said. The shooter, identified as 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, apparently intentionally targeted the hospital after he was in contact with the intensive care unit earlier in the week for medical care involving someone else, according to the York County district attorney.
Such violence at hospitals is on the rise, often in emergency departments but also maternity wards and intensive care units, hospital security consultant Dick Sem said. In hospital attacks, unlike random mass shootings elsewhere, the shooter is often targeting somebody, sometimes resentful about the care given a relative who died, he added.
