Security guard blasted to death ‘protecting birthing centre’ in hospital horror
A hero security guard has been blasted to death in a horror hospital shooting, reportedly while protecting a birthing centre.
Brave Bobby Smallwood's family say they are heartbroken by his death after an unidentified gunman opened fire at the Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, killing Bobby and injuring another hospital worker from shrapnel.
The gunman fled but police later tracked him down a few hours later and he was killed by gunfire as cops tried to arrest him - sparking a debate online about gun safety and police actions.
Bobby was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries.
His cousin, Rachel Milligan Moreno, wrote on Facebook : "Please pray for my family as we lost my cousin Bobby Smallwood yesterday as he was protecting the birthing center at a hospital.
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"Please pray for his Mom, dad, brother and sister as they are dealing with the shock. We love you so much Bobby! Our hearts are broken."
Rachel Milligan Moreno shared the images of Bobby (Rachel Milligan Moreno / Facebook)She added: "A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."
The shooting took place just after 11am on Saturday, at the hospital in Portland, Oregon, US, where Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler spoke out.
Mayor Wheeler wrote in a statement released via Twitter : "This is an incomprehensible tragedy and I send my heartfelt condolences to those impacted.
"This highly volatile situation required substantial resources and coordination to address. I am incredibly grateful to (the Portland Police Department) for their fast response to protect our community."
Police at the scene (KPTV WS)However, one Twitter user hit back, describing the cops' actions as a "policing failure".
They wrote: "Now, there will never be a proper investigation, trial, and opportunity for victim statement at sentencing."
Another Twitter user asked: "Why didn’t your gun free safe zone signs work?! Why didn’t they respect that space? I just don’t understand."
Kathryn Correia, CEO of Legacy Health, the parent company of the hospital, said in a statement: "Words cannot express the profound grief we are experiencing.
"We offer our unwavering support to Bobby’s loved ones, to our patients in our care, to the staff at Legacy Good Samaritan and to all of our employees and providers suffering today."
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Emergency services rushed to the scene (KPTV WS)The Portland Police Bureau confirmed the suspect was later shot dead by police in Gresham, a city located in Multnomah County, Oregon.
Police had rushed to the scene on Northwest 22nd Avenue and entered the hospital to try and hunt down the shooter.
By 2pm Saturday, a police spokesman said there were “one or more” victims, KPTV reported.
The shooter had fled the hospital and cops set up a perimeter around the neighbourhood.
Reports came in that the gunman may have entered the Fred Meyer store at 100 Northwest 20th Place.
A massive police presence surrounded the store, evacuated staff and customers and searched the building.
Police shot the suspect (KPTV WS)But the shooter was spotted driving a vehicle and police chased it down and stopped it near Northeast 181st Avenue and Northeast Everett Street in Gresham.
Details are unclear, but what is known is the gunman died when police fired their weapons during the police stop, and they died.
Later Saturday evening, Portland Police Bureau revealed three officers shot at the suspected gunman. Their identities may be released later and an internal investigation will take place.
A statement read: "Per Bureau policy, the identity of Bureau members involved shall be released within 15 days, absent a credible security threat. No other police agencies were involved in the use of deadly force.
"In addition to the East County Major Crimes investigation, as part of the use of force review process, the Bureau will conduct an internal review of the entire incident, including the initial response, resources requested, tactics used, and post shooting actions."
Bobby's family are heartbroken (Rachel Milligan Moreno / Facebook)Meanwhile, Bobby was being transferred to a Level 1 Trauma Center, where he died despite the best efforts to save his life by emergency medics.
The second hospital staff member, hit by shrapnel, was treated and released from hospital on Saturday.
Legacy Good Samaritan confirmed the hero security guard who died was Bobby Smallwood, on their website.
A 'shelter-in-place' order for the hospital was lifted at 4.15pm, and Legacy said the hospital emergency department moved out of divert status at 7.30pm.
But the Good Samaritan Family Birth Center is closed until further notice, while counselling is being provided for staff, Legacy said.
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