SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A suspect in custody after a man was fatally shot Monday night in the parking lot of Sentara Obici Hospital is the victim’s father, police say.
Suffolk police confirmed the victim is 36-year-old Virginia Beach resident Earl Bryant Boone Jr.
Police say the shooting was domestic in nature and that the parties involved did not work at the hospital.
Police arrested 56-year-old Earl Bryant Boone Sr., the victim’s father, Monday evening on charges of first degree murder and use or display of a firearm in commission of a felony.
Boone Sr. is currently being held without bond at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail.
The shooting happened just before 6:30 p.m. Monday in the hospital parking lot. Staff brought the victim to the hospital’s emergency room where he was pronounced dead.
Suffolk spokeswoman Diana Klink made it clear Monday’s shooting was not an active shooter situation, though hospital employees initially did receive an alert from the hospital saying there was an active shooter threat. The hospital was placed on lockdown, but it was lifted shortly after 8 p.m.
“We announced there was an active shooter so folks could take cover right away,” said Coleen Santa Ana, the president of Sentara Obici.
Santa Ana also said people in the ER waiting room were moved to protection while first responders brought the victim in for treatment. While Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance was dispatched to take the man to the trauma center in Norfolk, the victim died before it could arrive.
“I think its always tough, a really emotional situation, especially when you have something so close to the hospital doors,” Santa Ana said. “But I think that (staff) reacted very appropriately and I think they put the patients first and did everything just like our protocols say to keep everyone safe.”
Santa Ana said emergency training events are completed throughout the year to prepare for situations like this.
Police say several vehicles in the parking lot were also damaged by the gunfire.
Klink said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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