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Doctor returns fire in hospital, disables shooting suspect

Hospital Safety Insider, July 31, 2014

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A psychiatrist narrowly avoided being shot to death by a patient in a suburban Philadelphia hospital July 24, and his quick response by pulling out his own firearm and shooting the suspect is being credited for saving many more lives at the facility, according to a report from the Charleston Daily Mail.

According to the report, the suspect, Richard Plotts, showed up at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Pennsylvania at around 1:30 p.m., an hour early for an appointment he had with his psychiatrist, Lee Silverman. At some point there was a scuffle, and Plotts pulled out a gun and shot a caseworker in the face, reports said. He then shot at Silverman, who was grazed by a bullet in the temple and thumb but managed to crouch down behind a desk and pull his own weapon out to return fire.

The report added that Plotts – who has a history of gun arrests, violence and mental health problems - was shot several times, but survived and had to be wrestled to the ground. Reports quoted police as saying Plotts had 39 unspent bullets on him and that it’s believed he had planned to shoot more people at the hospital had Silverman not returned fire.

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