Suspect and victim in Arkansas hospital shooting knew each other, police say
Christine FernandoPolice say a deadly shooting Wednesday at a hospital near Little Rock, Arkansas, was an isolated incident where the suspect and victim previously knew each other.
One person died Wednesday after a man opened fire at CHI St. Vincent North in Sherwood, a city of about 33,000 people northeast of Little Rock. The suspect was later arrested at a nearby gas station.
Police identified the suspect as Raymond Lovett, 24, who was charged with capital murder and aggravated assault. Lovett is accused of fatally shooting Leighton Whitfield, 21, a visitor at CHI St. Vincent North.
Lovett knew Whitfield before the shooting took place, said Sherwood Police Chief Jeff Hagar at a Wednesday news conference.
“It appears to be an isolated event that just happened to take place in a public facility," Hagar said.
Sherwood Police Department officers were dispatched to the hospital around 10 a.m. Wednesday after reports of shots fired and a possible active shooter, Hagar said. The hospital was temporarily placed on lockdown.
Officers arriving at the scene found Whitfield dead on the fourth floor of the hospital.
The Little Rock Police Department said it was alerted that a potential suspect was at an Exxon gas station about 15 miles from the hospital. Officers detained the suspect at the gas station and notified Sherwood police, Little Rock police said on Twitter.
Hagar said the suspect was arrested at the gas station about an hour after officers arrived at the hospital.
Chad Aduddell, CEO of CHI St Vincent, said the hospital will review its security protocols following the shooting.
"I also want to thank our coworkers," he said Wednesday at a news conference. "... In the face of the unknown, they didn't yield. They were still there to take care of their patients."
The shooting comes months after a gunman killed four people in June at a medical center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The suspect blamed a doctor at the facility for his continuing pain after a recent back surgery, police said.
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Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
