A gunman in Pennsylvania entered UPMC Memorial Hospital and held several staff members hostage at the ICU. Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, a 49-year-old man, injured five and killed a police officer before he was shot dead by police. A day before the incident, Archangel-Ortiz was removed from the same hospital after he became irate when he was told that there was nothing left to do to save his dying wife.
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According to CNN, Archangel-Ortiz was removed from the UPMC Memorial Hospital when he became irate following the diagnosis of his terminally ill wife. Reportedly, he was told that there was no treatment left that the hospital could provide. It is unclear whether Archangel-Ortiz's wife is currently alive or not.
That said, Lester Mendoza, a physician assistant at the York, Pennsylvania hospital, detailed the interactions he previously had with Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz.
"I spoke with the very man who did this act, interacting with him multiple days," Mendoza wrote on
Facebook. I was there when we delivered the worst news imaginable to him—that his loved one was gone."A 'Monster'
Mendoza would say that he saw Archangel-Ortiz "devastated" and "broken." However, he did not see a "monster" in him at the time. He also revealed that he, alongside of colleague, had shared experiences related to loss with Archangel-Ortiz. Mendoza stated that he had developed a "human connection," as Archangel-Ortiz shared pictures of him with his wife and other significant items.
"I would have never imagined or expected him to do something like this," Mendoza continued. "But grief, exhaustion, isolation, and a lack of mental health and social support services create cracks that people fall through. And when they do, the consequences can be catastrophic."
"No one should feel so unheard or unsupported that they resort to violence. No nurse, no doctor, no provider should have to fear for their life at work. And yet, here we are."
Mendoza would go on and call the healthcare system a "system that is crumbling under neglect" rather than just "one tragic event." We are all exhausted. We are all suffering," Mendoza said. "And if we continuously ignore it, and accept it as the normal, there will be no positive growth or change."
Archangel-Ortiz shot three hospital staff members in the ICU. These include a unit doctor, a nurse, and a custodian. He would then shoot three officers, killing West York Borough Police Department Officer Andrew Duarte. Archangel-Ortiz was shot dead by police.
