NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A husband and wife are dead from an apparent murder-suicide at Riverside Regional Medical Center Sunday morning, the Newport News Police Department (NNPD) announced.
During a press conference, Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew called it a "tragic situation." He said it was an "isolated incident" and there was no longer a threat to the community.
"I want to stress that no one else is in danger," he said. "There was immediate lockdown. It was handled."
Officers were called to the hospital located on J Clyde Morris Boulevard at around 8:20 a.m. for a reported shooting. A Newport News police spokesperson told 13News Now the wife shot her husband and then herself inside a hospital room. The couple, who were both in their late 70s, were both pronounced dead at the scene.
"You never know what's in someone's mind," said Chief Drew. "My hope is when they do the search that there is some information, something in written form or maybe some statements made to family members, that can help us a little bit determine why. I can tell you that everything we know at this point is there is no active anger or violence toward staff or anyone else."
Police said no other patients or staff were hurt in the incident. Further, according to a release from NNPD, "patient treatment has not been impacted."
The situation prompted the hospital to be temporarily placed under lockdown which was later lifted.
Calling the response "phenomenal," Chief Drew commended hospital staff for reacting swiftly — placing the hospital in lockdown and alerting authorities while continuing to care for patients. He continued, praising his own officers for their response.
"My prayers go out to those that responded — uniformed or ununiformed, those who were on-duty and off-duty," said Drew. "I couldn't be more impressed with the communication, relationship, the partnership, working together. Like I said Riverside is a gem of our city and we have a great relationship with those on the floor, doing the job day-in and day-out, and the supervision and executive side."
Mayor Phillip Jones shared his condolences to the victims' family members in an emailed statement.
“On behalf of the City of Newport News, I send my strong appreciation to all those who acted swiftly, including the Riverside team and members of the Newport News Police Department. They continue to work together to provide comfort to patients and families and ensure the safety of the facility," the statement reads. “We are committed to working with Riverside Health System to provide staff with the support they need.”
Chief Drew said more information would be released at a later time, adding that there will be future discussions on how to prevent these situations from happening in the future.
Riverside Health released a statement on the incident saying
"We’re deeply saddened by yesterday’s events. Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted.
The health and safety of our team members, Riverside patients, and their loved ones is our primary focus. We regularly review our safety protocols and procedures to ensure Riverside Health and its care facilities are safe places to heal and work. We will continue to review our safety protocols and make improvements to ensure the safety of those who work and choose Riverside for their care."