NEW YORK _ A gunman dressed in a white lab coat and carrying a semiautomatic rifle opened fire in a Bronx hospital Friday afternoon, killing a doctor and wounding others before turning the gun on himself.
The New York Police Department identified the gunman as a physician, Henry Michael Bello, 45, who according to the hospital's website worked in family medicine. Officials said he left the hospital in 2015 and that they believe the shooting was a workplace dispute.
"Thank God this was not an act of terrorism. It was an isolated incident, a workplace-related matter, but that makes it no less tragic," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters.
"One doctor is dead, and there are several doctors fighting for their lives right now," he said.
The shooter was carrying an AR-15 assault rifle hidden under his lab coat and appeared to seek out victims on the 16th and 17th floors of the hospital. After the shooting, he tried to set himself on fire but failing that, he shot himself with his own gun, officials said.
The deceased doctor's name was not released. Six other people were injured.
One of the largest hospitals in the borough, the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center was under lockdown Friday afternoon. Nearby streets were closed, helicopters whirred overhead and sharp shooters were stationed nearby. Staff members evacuating the hospital were told to come out with their hands raised so that they would not be mistaken for a suspect.
Patients and staff barricaded themselves in restrooms and laboratories during the shooting.
Bello had resigned from the hospital in 2015 as part of an agreement that prevented his firing, according to several media reports.
The New York Post reported that Bello was arrested in a 2004 sexual harassment case and was accused of grabbing a woman's crotch. The outcome of that case was unclear. He was arrested again in 2009, but those records were sealed, the newspaper reported.
