A nursing assistant who allegedly shot and killed a coworker inside Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia has been charged with murder, attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other related charges. (6abc)
This story originally appeared on 6abc.
A nursing assistant who allegedly shot and killed a coworker inside Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia has been charged with murder, attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other related charges.
According to police, 55-year-old Stacey Hayes drove to the hospital around 12:08 a.m. Monday in a U-Haul, walked to the ninth floor wearing blue scrubs, and fatally shot his coworker, 43-year-old nursing assistant Anrae James.
Surveillance video reportedly shows Hayes walk up behind James and open fire while he was seated at his work station, according to sources. Hayes then allegedly kept firing as James tried to run away.
Hayes, who police say was armed with multiple weapons, then fled the hospital in the U-Haul.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said James was pronounced dead a short time after the gunfire erupted inside the hospital.
The commissioner said it is not clear if the suspect was working at the time. He possibly accessed areas that only employees can enter, Outlaw said.
“We do believe that other employee was targeted,” Outlaw said. “The reasons why, at this point, we still don’t know.”
Action News obtained the police calls as the workplace shooting unfolded.
“At Jefferson, ninth floor, saying there’s an employee shot. Be advised, inside Jefferson Hospital, we have an active shooter. It’s going to be on the ninth floor. They’ve got a male with scrubs and a mask. Ninth floor, nine west,” the transmission said.
Outlaw said around 1:25 a.m., approximately an hour after the shooting, 16th district officers were flagged down by a passerby at 40th Street and Parkside Avenue in the Parkside section of the city, near the School of the Future. The school is about four miles from Jefferson Hospital.
“The report was that there was a male in scrubs, with a weapon or a long gun, who was potentially firing rounds in the air or just had a gun,” Outlaw said.
According to police, the officers ordered the male to “drop the gun” several times, but he ignored their verbal commands and discharged his rifle towards the officers. Four of the officers returned fire. Two officers were struck by the gunfire.
A 30-year-old officer was hit in the right elbow. He is in stable condition at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
A 32-year-old officer was struck in the nose and was treated and released from Penn Presbyterian.
Both officers have been on the force for six years. The other two officers who discharged their weapons were not hit by gunfire.
The suspect was struck in the upper body and neck, Outlaw said.
“We learned that he was wearing body armor, and was carrying multiple weapons. In addition to the long gun which was believed to be an AR-15, he was also carrying some form of a semi-automatic handgun,” Outlaw said.
The suspect was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in critical condition but is expected to survive.
According to police, Hayes is charged with Murder, Attempted Criminal Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Assault on Law Enforcement, VUFA, and related offenses.
The suspect’s family told police he was recently suffering from mental health issues.
Sources say Hayes was known to police and had weapons taken away from him for psychiatric reasons. He petitioned the courts last year to get those weapons back and was successful.
Neighbors say Hayes was no longer living with his wife and children at their Parkside home, and sources say he appeared to be living out of a U-Haul truck.
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