Leighton Whitfield Death – A guy shot and killed a man visiting a patient at a hospital in the Little Rock region on Wednesday. The suspect was apprehended at a gas station about an hour later, according to police.
Leighton Whitfield, 21, was discovered dead on the fourth floor of CHI St. Vincent North in Sherwood, according to Sherwood Police Chief Jeff Hagar. The hospital was on lockdown while police responded to reports of the shooting.
24-year-old Raymond Lovett was apprehended by Little Rock police at an Exxon station about 15 miles from the hospital a little over an hour after the incident. Hagar stated Wednesday afternoon that Lovett had not yet been charged.
Hagar stated during a news conference on Wednesday that “it appears to be an isolated incidence that just so occurred to take place in a public venue.”
The hospital’s lockdown was lifted early on Wednesday afternoon, according to a hospital spokesman.
Northeast of Little Rock is the city of Sherwood, which has a population of roughly 33,000.
Hospital employees were spotted chatting with coworkers and loved ones in the parking lot of an Academy Sports store close to the hospital. Several agencies of law enforcement responded.
The shooting took place months after a gunman who also killed himself shot and killed four people at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to police, the shooter in that incident blamed the doctor, who was one of the four victims, for his ongoing back pain following a recent procedure, and just hours before going on the rampage, he purchased an AR-style weapon.
According to experts, shootings and other occurrences show how vulnerable healthcare facilities are.
According to the hospital’s website, more than 200 doctors and staff members work at CHI St. Vincent North, which opened its doors in 1999.
Following the incident, the hospital will debrief and examine its security procedures, according to CHI St. Vincent Chief Executive Officer Chad Aduddell. He commended the hospital’s doctors and staff for their work during the shooting as well as the police for their prompt response to the incident.
He stated, “I can’t put it into words how brave they were. Although they didn’t know what was happening, they continued to be there to care for their patients in the midst of the uncertainty. Despite this, they were willing and prepared to do so.
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