One person was killed at a New Hampshire hospital on Friday afternoon by a shooter who was then fatally shot by a state trooper, authorities said.
Few details were immediately released, and the motive of the attacker is unclear. Authorities said shots broke out at the New Hampshire State Hospital, which is characterized on its website as an “acute psychiatric hospital,” in Concord, the state’s capital. One person who was injured in the attack was rushed to a hospital but later died, officials said.
“The situation at New Hampshire Hospital has been contained,” emergency management authorities wrote in a statement at 4:40 p.m. “The scene remains active. The suspect is deceased.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The director of New Hampshire State Police, Mark Hall, said in a brief press conference that “all patients are safe” and that the shooting was limited to the building’s front lobby. The identities of the shooter and the victim have not yet been released.
Hall said the scene was still active due to a “suspicious vehicle,” but he didn’t elaborate or take questions from reporters.
It’s unclear when shots first rang out, or how many were fired in total, but the first updates from authorities were shared just after 4 p.m.
The hospital, which did not answer phone calls from The Daily Beast, is on a 120-acre campus where multiple state agencies are based, including the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. The facility has 184 beds and metal detectors at its entrance.
Aerial footage recorded by local news stations showed scores of people evacuating the building.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who lives four miles from the shooting scene, commended first responders in a statement, but did not provide additional details about what occurred.
“The state immediately mobilized, and first responders and law enforcement are on the scene,” he said. “We will provide as many details as possible as this situation unfolds.”
The shooting comes three weeks after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, about two hours north of Concord, left 18 people dead at a bar and bowling alley.
