NEW ORLEANS – A shooting at University Medical Center put the hospital on lock down for nearly an hour on Thursday.
Initially, police thought they were dealing with an active shooter inside the hospital. Instead, it was a shooting outside near the emergency room.
A woman and a man were arguing at the on-ramp when she tried to shoot him, but hit two bystanders instead.
A man who did not want to give his name said, “It was actually really pretty scary.”
He was on the second floor of the hospital and says UMC acted quickly to keep everyone safe.
“They called it over the PA system that they have an active shooter,” the man said. “They told all of us to go to the back of the building where we were at on the second floor.”
The man said he could not help but think of the worst case scenario.
“For the simple reason being that you can be in the way of someone actually shooting you,” the man said. “You don’t know what’s on that person’s mind.”
Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said once NOPD arrived, they determined it was not an active shooter, rather it was a domestic dispute.
“A 55-year-old male sustained a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. A 55-year-old female sustained a gunshot would to the right hip. Both are in stable condition and we do not believe these are life threatening injuries at this time,” Ferguson said.
UMC released a statement saying no hospital employees or patients were intended targets. The hospital’s public safety team is working with NOPD in its investigation.
“We have the female in custody and she will be charged with the shooting of these two victims,” Ferguson said.
Police have not identified the woman arrested.