Chicago police investigate hospital shooting that left four dead

CHICAGO — Chicago police on Tuesday were seeking a motive for a shooting rampage outside and inside a hospital late on Monday that left four people dead, including the gunman, a physician who was his former girlfriend and a police officer, officials said.

The gunman, Juan Lopez, 32, was the former boyfriend of Dr Tamara O'Neal, 38, who he shot and killed outside Mercy Hospital on Monday, officer Jose Jara of the Chicago police department said.

Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson on Monday described that first killing as an act of domestic violence.

"There's no doubt in my mind that all of those officers who responded were heroes and they saved a lot of lives because we just don't know how much damage he [the gunman] was prepared to do," Johnson said.

After killing O'Neal, Lopez fired at arriving police officers with a handgun then entered the hospital and exchanged gunfire for several minutes with officers who followed him, Johnson said.

Lopez also died but it was not immediately clear if he shot himself or was struck by a police officer's bullet.

Officer Samuel Jimenez, who joined the Chicago police force last year, died during the gunfight, officials said. Jimenez, 28, was married with children and was the second city officer killed on duty this year.

O'Neal had worked as a resident and emergency room physician at Mercy Hospital for about two years and was heavily involved in her church, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The newspaper cited hospital employees as saying O'Neal was Lopez's former girlfriend. One witness said Lopez was harassing O'Neal before the attack.

"I knew her, trained with her, saved lives with her and tonight, tried to save her life," John Purakal a doctor at the University of Chicago Medicine Medical School and Health System, wrote on Twitter. "Tonight, I broke down in front of my co-workers when we lost her, and tonight I held hands with her mother in prayer. Tonight, we lost a beautiful, resilient, passionate doc."

Doctors and patients fled the hospital during the attack.

Pharmacy assistant Dayna Less, 24, was shot and killed as she left an elevator, Johnson said. Another officer was spared injury when a bullet lodged itself in his gun holster.

In Denver, another shooting left one person dead and four wounded on Monday. At least one suspect remained at large after the shooting on a downtown street corner. Police said the injuries were believed to be non-life-threatening.