Officers Fatally Shoot Patient At Barnes-Jewish Hospital

ST. LOUIS, MO — Public Safety officers shot a man on Barnes-Jewish Hospital's campus around 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Witnesses say the man was armed with two knives and the shooting occurred on the 14th floor of Washington University's Center for Advanced Medicine. Barnes-Jewish and Washington University share the building. Kara Price Shannon, a spokesperson for Barnes-Jewish Hospital confirmed, "There was an incident on our campus this morning involving our department of public safety. There is no threat to the public or our patients. The investigation has been turned over to St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department."

Witnesses say the man shot was a 46-year-old patient. SLMPD confirmed he was shot multiple times and that he has died. According to police, the man was in an exam room with his wife before the shooting. For reasons that are unclear, he pushed his way out of the room and pulled two knives, prompting health care workers to call security. When officers arrived, the man refused to drop the knife, and they shot him. Other details, such as the man's distance from the officers, and whether he was an immediate danger, were not made public.

St. Louis Children's Hospital nearby was placed on a temporary lockdown after the shooting.

Washington University alerted its employees of the shooting by email just after noon. "On Thursday morning, January 11, the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Department of Public Safety was called to a treatment room on the 14th floor of the Center for Advanced Medicine in response to a report of a patient armed with a knife," the email read. "In the course of the response, the patient was shot by public safety officers and the patient has died. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is on-site at the Center for Advanced Medicine and conducting an investigation."

This story is developing. Check back for updates.