Hospital-based shootings in the United States: 2000 to 2011

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Criminology
• Healthcare Security

Background:

• Workplace violence is prevalent in healthcare settings.
• Emergency departments (EDs) are particularly vulnerable to violence.
• Data on hospital-based shootings are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize US hospital-based shootings between 2000 and 2011.
• To analyze the nature and circumstances of these events.
• To identify trends and contributing factors.

Main Methods:

• Searched LexisNexis, Google, Netscape, PubMed, and ScienceDirect for hospital shooting events.
• Included acute care hospitals in the United States from 2000 to 2011.
• Analyzed all events with at least one injured victim.

Main Results:

• Identified 154 hospital-related shootings, with 235 injured or dead victims.
• The majority of perpetrators were men; common motives included grudge, suicide, and prisoner escape.
• Emergency departments were frequent sites, with perpetrators sometimes using security officers' weapons; perpetrator was the most common victim.

Conclusions:

• Hospital shootings are relatively rare compared to other workplace violence.
• The unpredictable nature and determined perpetrators present significant security challenges.
• Many shootings occur outside the hospital, complicating deterrence efforts.