Chicago hospital shooting gunman was kicked out of fire academy for bullying

CHICAGO – The gunman accused of killing a doctor, a pharmacist and a police officer at Chicago's Mercy Hospital on Monday was kicked out of the city's fire training program more than four years ago for bullying fellow cadets, authorities said Tuesday.

Juan Lopez, 32, bullied multiple cadets, including some women, during his roughly two months at the Chicago Fire Academy in 2014 before he was fired, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said.

"There were some issues with bullying that he was going to be disciplined for, and he went AWOL," Merritt told USA TODAY.

Merritt said he did not have details of the incident for which Lopez was to be disciplined. He said Lopez was fired after failing to show up to work for several days. Lopez did not respond to a wellness check from fire officials.

Lopez had been married and had a child with his ex-wife, according to divorce records.

His former wife said Lopez behaved dangerously before the marriage dissolved. He slept with a pistol under his pillow, she said, and brandished a weapon on multiple occasions during fits of anger with a neighbor and a realtor.

The woman said that after she began the process to legally separate, Lopez sent her a menacing text message suggesting he would go to her job and “cause a scene.”

Police released details about the deaths Monday of emergency room physician Tamara O'Neal, 38, pharmacy resident Dayna Less, 25, and Officer Samuel Jimenez, 28.

Lopez was killed in the attack. He was wounded in the abdomen and also suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head..

Lopez approached O'Neal outside the hospital as she left work Monday evening, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. O'Neal contacted police.

O'Neal told police dispatchers that Lopez, her former fiance, was angry and demanded she return an engagement ring, Guglielmi said. She told dispatchers she feared Lopez was armed.

The gunman opened fire outside the hospital, mortally wounding O’Neal, Guglielmi said. He fired on a police vehicle, then ran into the hospital.

Less was exiting an elevator with another hospital employee when Lopez shot her.

Police initially said Less was killed in crossfire. Tuesday, officials confirmed that witnesses said the gunman appeared to intentionally shoot at her.

Investigators said they did not believe the gunman and Less knew each other.

The hospital employee with Less was not injured.

As the hospital went on lockdown, the gunman ran back outside, Guglielmi said. By then, more officers had arrived.

Lopez shot again at police, who shielded O'Neal's body with their squad cars before retreating back into the hospital.

"The officers gave chase," Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. "They were (across) a hallway, and he was kind of playing peek-a-boo with the officers, firing down the hallway."

Jimenez was shot in the neck, Guglielmi said. 

Michael Davenport, Mercy’s chief medical officer, said the hospital held its first active-shooter drill just weeks before Monday's shooting – a move that might have prevented worse carnage.

Not all hospital employees participated in the drill, which was a follow-up on internet and classroom instruction for employees, Davenport said.

He said it appeared hospital employees executed the “run, hide, fight” instruction. Mercy has its own security, but the hospital officers did not get involved in the incident, Guglielmi said.

“Never in our wildest imagination would we ever think that we would have to experience the day we have,” Davenport said. “It is our inclination, I can speak for myself, you don’t feel well when you’re hiding. You want to open up a door, and you want to see what’s going on, and you want to help. But everyone did what they were trained to do.”

More:Police officer among 4 dead in 'horrific' Chicago hospital shooting

More:NRA rip of 'self-important' anti-gun docs criticized after Chicago hospital shooting

More:Chicago Mercy Hospital shooting: Two Purdue University graduates slain in attack

Hospital employees described taking action after hearing the first shots.

Pharmacist Joan Fortune said she and colleagues were talking to a patient at the pharmacy, which is near the emergency room entrance where the gunfire erupted. The patient, a man using a wheelchair, was the first to notice the sound of gunfire. He quickly rolled himself out of the hospital.

Hospital workers around the pharmacy pulled down security shutters and took shelter in an office, Fortune said, putting two locked doors between them and the gunman.

“We heard more gunshots and arguing,'' Fortune said. “We stayed barricaded for about 30 minutes until the police (arrived), and we ran out a back (exit).”

Jennifer Eldridge, a pharmacy technician, said the moment was harrowing as the gunfire continued.

“You could hear the shots,” she said. “You could hear him once he was inside. He wasn’t too far from the pharmacy.”

Steven White, a patient who was near the emergency room entrance, said a police officer told everyone to stay down, and he scurried for cover. White said at least 20 patients were near the entrance when the gunman opened fire.

“He was shooting in the back,” White said. "All the women started yelling, and the kids started crying."

Johnson credited Jimenez and the other officers who rushed to the scene with preventing more deaths. Jimenez joined the department less than two years ago.

“There is no doubt in my mind that all those officers who responded are heroes,” Johnson said.

Most mass shootings in the USA are related to domestic or family violence. The assailants in 54 percent of mass shootings from 2009 to 2016 killed intimate partners or other family members, according to an analysis by Everytown, a group that advocates for stricter gun laws.

The gunman legally purchased four weapons in the past five years and had a valid firearms owner identification card and a concealed-carry license, Guglielmi said. Authorities searched residences Tuesday connected to Lopez in Chicago and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Lopez was enrolled as a graduate student at DePaul University, pursuing a master's degree in public service management, university spokeswoman Carol Hughes said. The gunman earned a bachelor's degree from the university in 2013. He also worked at the Chicago Housing Authority's customer care center, a job Lopez had held since February, according to the agency.

Patrick Connor, chairman of the hospital’s emergency department, described O’Neal, a doctor a couple of years past her medical residency, as a “most fascinating, hardworking” person.

Connor called O’Neal “the best person ever” and said she was dedicated to helping others.

She raised money each year to help pay for school supplies for disadvantaged children. Her one request for him, Connor said, was to have Sundays off so she could sing with her church choir.

“If you were an extremist, she was the right person for you,” Connor said, holding back tears. “She never missed work and her total dedication to her church. She will be sorely missed.”

Less, who recently graduated from Purdue University, was getting started with her career. Connor said she began her residency at Mercy in July.

Jimenez was a married father of three.

Johnson said the officer wasn't dispatched to the scene but ran there to help save lives.

“He wasn’t assigned the call,” Guglielmi said. “He was out running errands on behalf of his district and heard the active-shooter call.”

Jimenez was rushed from Mercy to the trauma unit at the nearby University of Chicago Medical Center but was pronounced dead.

Dozens of police officers joined a procession to honor the officer Monday evening. Officers stood saluting their colleague as an ambulance took his body from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office.