Nevada - A gunman killed one person and critically injured two others before taking his own life on Tuesday at a medical centre in Nevada, police and witnesses said.
The incident occurred on the third floor of a building connected to the Renown Regional Medical centre in Reno, where the injured were then treated, reports said.
Witness Kandy Hall said the gunman came into a waiting room at around 2pm (22h00 GMT). “This man came through the door into the waiting room with (a gun) at his side,” she said, cited by the Reno Gazette-Journal.
“He pointed it at me and then he brandished it at everyone else that was sitting against the wall and he said something like, 'Everybody get out of here,' or 'You'd all better get out of here’. Then he opened the door to go back to where the doctor and the nurses were.”
Staff began shouting “He's got a gun. He's got a gun. Get out of here”, Hall said. “So everyone started to run for the doors and cramming everyone into the elevators,” she added, saying that she did not hear the gunshots.
Reno Police Department deputy chief Tom Robinson said: “We have two people confirmed deceased in the building. The shooter is one of the deceased,” adding that the fatal wound “appears to be self-inflicted”. He gave no other details.
Nevada senator and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tweeted: “Saddened by tragic shooting at Renown's Regional Medical centre. My heart goes out to the victims and their families.”
The incident came days after the anniversary on Saturday of the Sandy Hook massacre which killed 26 people including 20 children in Newtown, Connecticut.
On Friday, an 18-year-old opened fire at the Arapahoe High School in Colorado, critically wounding a 17-year-old female fellow student before taking his own life.
Sapa-AFP