Several hours after the mass shooting in the Warehouse District in Downtown Cleveland, a group of people rushed into MetroHealth Hospital and tried to get to one of the gunshot victims but were confronted by MetroHealth Police officers and ran out of the building, according to information released by the hospital system.
Nine people were shot at W. 6th Street and Johnson Court at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday and were taken to the hospital. Two people wounded in an unrelated shooting in Tremont were also transported to MetroHealth.
At about 5 a.m. Sunday, a group of people arrived at the Emergency Department entrance on Scranton Road and rushed through the doors, apparently trying to get to one of the gunshot victims, according to an internal communication sent out by MetroHealth. As the group ran in, they knocked over the weapon detector at the entrance.
The group was immediately confronted by MetroHealth Police officers, the MetroHealth communication stated. The group then ran out of the building and left the campus.
The group did not get into the emergency department and operations there were not disrupted, hospital officials stated. The police officers were not injured, and the situation lasted for about one minute. The hospital’s weapon detection system was offline for a few hours.
The chief of MetroHealth Police and his officers are reviewing surveillance footage to see if any of the intruders can be identified and charged.
“We should also be proud of our brave MHPD officers who sprang into action on a moment’s notice to protect those providers and our other patients,” MetroHealth President and CEO Airica Steed said in the internal communication. “Safety must always be our paramount concern, and I am grateful for the quick actions of our officers."
In a memo to hospital staff, CEO Doctor Airica Steed says the group featured in this video was "apparently trying to get to one of the downtown gunshot wound victims."
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