Former ChristianaCare intern indicted on multiple charges after allegedly shooting two co-workers, one fatally

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Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said the gunman in last week’s attack at ChristianaCare’s Wilmington Hospital is facing multiple felony charges, including murder and attempted murder.

Jennings announced the indictment against John Wallace-Bey at a news conference Monday, along with Wilmington Police Chief Wilfredo Campos and ChristianaCare’s incoming President and CEO Jennifer Schwartz.

Wallace-Bey, 23, is accused of shooting nineteen-year-olds Ethan Hillman and Jayden Ellis at the hospital last week. Hillman died of his injuries. Ellis is in stable condition.

“These are two kids,” Jennings said. “Ethan, from what his mom told me, [was] just a really delightful, kind, young man looking forward to his future.”

Wallace-Bey was arrested in Philadelphia. Law enforcement said it does not appear he had a criminal record.

According to Jennings, Wallace-Bey and the two victims were in the same six-month IT internship program with the ChristianaCare healthcare system. After an argument with Hillman and Ellis on the morning of June 16, the gunman left the hospital. He returned later that day and allegedly shot both men once each with a .38-caliber pistol.

“It is the state’s belief that this was a targeted shooting and that the defendant acted entirely alone,” Jennings said.

Campos said the whole city had been traumatized.

“No level of gun violence is acceptable, whether a shooting takes place in a workplace or on the street,” Campos said. “The incident not only affects that victim who is injured, but also the entire community and family members.”

Schwartz said an internal review found that Wallace-Bey passed a pre-screening process before he was hired by the healthcare system. She said that despite media reports, the suspect had not been fired, sent home or disciplined in any way before the June 16 shooting and had re-entered the hospital through an employee entrance.

“Our internal investigation also revealed that no ChristianaCare employee had ever expressed concerns that Mr. Wallace-Bey posed a safety threat to himself or anyone around him,” Schwartz said.

Wilmington Hospital had employed metal detectors at the visitor entrances prior to the incident. The incoming CEO said those screenings have now been expanded to employee entrances. Schwartz said the notification process of the incident was under review.

Jennings said law enforcement is still looking for the weapon Wallace-Bey allegedly used that day.

“We are laser-beam focused on where that gun may be,” she said.

Wallace-Bey is being held in police custody in Pennsylvania while prosecutors move to have him extradited to Delaware. The hearing is scheduled for June 29.