Bronx Hospital Shooting: Multiple People Shot, Staff ‘Sheltered in Place’ Amid Backdrop of Active Shooter Planning

21st Century Wire says…

Several people have been shot at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, as an allegedly disgruntled ex-family medicine doctor opened fire with an ‘M16 type rifle’ inside the facility. Early reports state that as many a six were injured in the shooting with at least two people dead at the scene including the shooter. 

A motive for the tragic shooting is the still under investigation, as the gunman said to be 45-year-old Dr. Henry Michael Bello, is believed to have resigned in 2015 instead of being terminated. Interestingly, early reports suggested that there may have been multiple shooters involved.

‘ACTIVE SHOOTER’ – The Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center took part in an ‘active shooter’ preparedness forum in June of 2016. (Photo Illustration 21WIRE’s Shawn Helton)

NBC news reported the following developments shortly after the apparent shooting:

“The shooter has been identified as Dr. Henry Michael Bello, a 45-year-old family medicine doctor formerly employed at the hospital, according to sources.

After shooting the victims — many of them, if not all, doctors — Bello tried to set himself on fire on the 17th floor of the hospital, O’Neill said. The hospital’s fire alarm system activated, and FDNY firefighters were on standby outside the hospital as NYPD executed its active shooter protocol. 

By the time police found Bello on the 17th floor, he was dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound, O’Neill said.

A motive in the shootings remains unclear, but authorities say there is no apparent nexus to terror. Sources say Bello resigned from the hospital in 2015 in lieu of being fired. Circumstances in the resignation weren’t clear. 

As members of the NYPD’s most-armed units responded to the active shooter situation, a sea of patrol and tactical vehicles gridlocked the streets around the hospital on Grand Concourse, and police surveyed the roof of the building with their guns drawn, Chopper 4 over the scene shows.”

Other reports have suggested it took about 15 minutes from the first 911 call until Bello’s body was discovered dead.

Also shortly after the shooting rampage started, Reuters reported the police were able to conduct a sweep essentially shutting down the building attack:

“Police searched the hospital room by room, urging occupants to turn off the lights and remain in place as they conducted the sweep, according to an account posted on Twitter by Felix Puno, who identified himself as patient in the radiology department on the fourth floor of the hospital.

“Building is in complete shut down, I was in the middle of getting an x-ray when security alerted us to the active shooter situation,” Puno tweeted.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was briefed on the shooting and was on his way to the scene, the mayor’s Twitter account said.”

As with any traumatic event there often several are certain details that don’t quite add up, while we’ve been told the shooting took place on the 16th floor of the building some reports gave eye-witness testimony to the contrary, with one stating he heard three gun shots while located on the 10th floor. Is it really possible he heard gun shots from 6 stories above? Here’s NBC again with that detail:

“Francisco Bodon, a patient at Bronx Lebanon, tells NBC New York sister station Telemundo 47 that he was in a room on the 10th floor when three gunshots rang out and then chaos erupted.

There may have been more than three [shots], but people were screaming, crying and running around. It was very chaotic,” said Bodon.”

Adding to the confusion, the UK’s Express reported that one of doctors who was wounded in the shooting, as people inside the hospital created a makeshift tourniquet out of an emergency fire hose.

Over the years, we’ve seen how sensationalized shooting events have become a staple part of our day to day lives, complete with ready-made political talking points and staged press conferences – a buffet laid out for America, all of this within minutes or hours of high-profile tragedy.

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‘MASSIVE RESPONSE’ –  This kind of police emergency response has become routine after many high-profile active shooter incidents. (Image Source: nbcdfw.com)

The precarious relationship between emergency preparedness drills an active shootings is an ongoing pattern witnessed in the aftermath of many high-profile shooting incidents, something we’ve covered extensively at 21WIRE in recent years – the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center appears to be no exception.

Although the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center appears to be work place violence, it’s important to examine other aspects or elements surrounding any case.

Below is a screen shot depicting speakers that participated in an “Active Shooter Planning Forum” in conjunction with the Healthcare Association of New York State in June of 2016. The Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center is displayed among those speaking…

In addition to active shooter emergency planning protocols listed above, according to a FOJP Service Corporation Journal Bronx-Lebanon Hospital was selected be a part of major emergency prep since at least over the past several years. here’s a passage from that report:

“At Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, the Department of Safety is charged with multiple responsibilities, some of which include, but are not limited to: fire and life safety, general safety and monitoring the fire command station; and coordinating emergency management and response planning.

Continuing, the report outlined the following:

“At Bronx-Lebanon, we took our environment into account, for example, geographic location we’re in, and let that be our driving force to how we developed our Hazard Vulnerablity Analysis (HVA) and put our emergency action plan (EAP) together. With two main campuses and multiple satellite locations, our plan has to incorporate everyone to ensure we will have the necessary staff in case of emergencies.”

It’s interesting that  a hospital known to have extensive emergency protocols could have a shooting occur on its own premises after leading the area charge in addressing that very issue.

Here’s a collection of media montages and video footage supposedly depicting the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center shooting response as staff and others sheltered in place…

As those in the hospital were ordered to shelter in place by both the NYPD and at the urging of the consulate for the United Arab Emirates, there were several tweets posted to Twitter.

Here’s a screenshot first published by New York City Alerts that allegedly depicts the dead gunman Bello – notice there’s no evidence of fire burns that can been seen…

QUESTION: What was the purpose of releasing this photo or than to sensationalize a tragic event?

Here’s a social media post with a comment that read ‘stayed safe during the crisis’ by a page since taken down on Instagram…

Here’s the witness who heard shots ring out while on the 10th floor…

Something else to consider, this shooting event took place the very same week during a major push to pass the GOP healthcare bill.

Will new questions emerge following the shocking Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center shooting?

READ MORE DAILY SHOOTER NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Daily Shooter Files

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21st Century Wire is an alternative news agency designed to enlighten, inform and educate readers about world events which are not always covered in the mainstream media.