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Investigators believe a man was shot in south London before he fled to the hospital and came under more gunfire from a suspect who followed him, a senior police officer says.
Police responded on Dec. 14 at around 2:30 a.m. to a confrontation and possible gunfire near White Oak and Southdale roads. While officers were heading to the scene, multiple 911 callers reported shots fired at the emergency room at Victoria Hospital, police said.
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Officers arrived at the Commissioners Road hospital to find gunfire struck both the building and a pickup truck that had crashed into a cement pillar, police said. A man who entered the emergency room with gunshot wounds was treated and released the same day.
“We do believe he possibly sustained injuries prior to arriving at the hospital,” Det.-Insp. Sean Travis said of the victim.
Travis, who oversees investigative services, declined to reveal any other details about the shooting, including whether police believe there were multiple gunmen, citing the ongoing probe.
No suspects had been arrested as of Thursday in what police have called a “targeted and isolated” incident.
Investigators on Wednesday released new images of a suspect vehicle – a four-door Hyundai Sonata from 2018 or 2019, grey or silver, with a sunroof – and asked anyone with information to come forward.
The head of London Health Sciences Centre said safety improvements, including installing a weapons detection system, are in the works at both London emergency rooms, though he conceded the measures wouldn’t have prevented the weekend gunfire.
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“It’s going to be something that is not going to take years to do. It’s going to take weeks to months to do,” interim LHSC chief executive David Musyj said of adding weapon-scanning devices like the ones at hospitals in Windsor.
Hospital officials are also exploring improvements to the exterior facades at the emergency rooms.
“We’re looking at, is there a way to make that safer?” he said, noting the interior of emergency rooms have bullet-resistant glass.
Video surveillance from the hospital was shared with police, Musyj said.
Musyj, who said he was on the scene at the emergency room soon after the gunfire, praised “the resilience” of emergency room staff.
“Dealing with people with gunshot wounds is not typical, but it happens,” he said. “They did not miss a beat. It was spectacular to watch it unfold. They were calm.”
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