St. Vincent Shooting: Police Confirm Active Shooter at Arkansas Hospital

Law enforcement officials in Sherwood, Arkansas confirmed on Wednesday that one person was dead after a shooting at a local hospital.

Sherwood Police Chief Jeff Hagar said at a news conference that police responded around 10 a.m. to CHI St. Vincent North after reports of shots fired and an active shooter in the building. After the hospital was placed on lockdown, police discovered the shooting victim.

"Officers did locate one victim deceased from at least one gunshot wound at the hospital," Hagar said. "We have taken a person of interest into custody as well."

The identities of the victim and the suspect remain unknown at this time, with Hagar citing the investigation as being in its "preliminary stages."

In a series of tweets, Andrew Epperson, a reporter for KARK 4 in Little Rock, Arkansas, shared several photos of heavy police presence located outside of the hospital.

"Here are some hospital workers standing outside Academy Sports near the hospital. One tells me they were told to evacuate," Epperson wrote in one tweet. In another, he wrote: "Jacksonville PD arrived to assist. Pulaski Co. Sheriff Eric Higgins is also here."

Frederick Price of news station THV11 in Little Rock also shared a video of police near the hospital. "We're across the street from CHI St. Vincent North in Sherwood where authorities are investigating a possible shooting. We are working to confirm information, but Arkansas State Police are saying this is a 'tactical response,'" he tweeted alongside the video.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton said that he was praying for "everyone at St. Vincent's and monitoring the situation as it unfolds."

Chris Jones, a Democratic nominee for Arkansas's governor wrote, "Active shooter in Sherwood. Please be alert if you're in the area, adding, "I'm praying for safety and protection for CHI St. Vincent in Sherwood and the surrounding community."

At around 12:30 p.m. local time, THV11 reporter Ashley Godwin said that law enforcement officials notified hospital employees that they could reenter the facility.

"Fourth floor is shut down. Witnesses tell us that's where the shooting happened," Godwin wrote in a tweet. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also reported that the shooting occurred on the hospital's fourth floor.

Newsweek reached out to the Sherwood Police Department for comment.

Update 9/28/22, 2:41 p.m. ET: This article was updated to note that one person died in the shooting and that the suspect had been arrested