Baltimore police are reporting that three people were shot at John Hopkins Hospital Thursday beginning at 11:11 a.m. Injured and undergoing surgery is Dr. David Cohen, an orthopedic specialist.
While standing outside of an elderly patient’s hospital room, Dr. Cohen was conferring with Warren Davis about his mother’s deteriorating condition. Davis became extremely agitated and pulled a small semi-automatic handgun from his waistband. He then shot the doctor in the lower chest and upper abdomen.
Jean Davis suffered from arthritis and rheumatism and was recovering from surgery that had been performed by Cohen. Pardus became distraught that his mother was continuing to suffer from a procedure that had not helped. Pardus had come to the devastating conclusion that his mother would never walk again.
The 50-year-old gunman then entered room 873 of the Nelson Building of the Hopkins hospital complex in a two-hour standoff before he shot his mother Jean Davis, 84, in the head before turning the gun on himself in what is being classified by investigators as a murder-suicide.
A SWAT team entered the eighth floor hospital room at 1:30 p.m. and discovered two dead bodies with gunshots to the head. That floor is home to orthopedic, spine, trauma and thoracic services.
UPDATE: Hospital officials believe that the name Warren Davis is an alias and police are working on positively identifying the deceased. Reports indicate that his is Paul Warren Pardus of Arlington, Virginia. He had a handgun permit issued from his home state and had no prior criminal record beyond traffic violations, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
Developing…
Photo of Dr. David Cohen and video coverage below: