A gunman armed with zip ties and a pistol stormed the intensive care unit of Pennsylvania’s UPMC Memorial Hospital on Saturday, triggering a shootout that killed a police officer and injured multiple staff members. The assailant, identified as 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, targeted workers he’d reportedly interacted with earlier in the week before engaging in a violent standoff with law enforcement.
Three ICU employees—a doctor, nurse, and custodian—were shot alongside two officers during the chaos. A fourth staffer suffered injuries from a fall. York County District Attorney Tim Barker confirmed Archangel-Ortiz was holding a bound staffer at gunpoint when police intervened.
This is a huge loss to our community,Barker stated. Officers were unequivocally justified in using deadly force.
The fallen officer, Andrew Duarte of the West York Borough Police, joined the force in 2022 after five years with Denver PD. His LinkedIn profile highlighted a 2021 hero award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his impaired-driving enforcement work. He had a type A personality and lived to serve,said West York Borough Manager Shawn Mauck.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro praised Duarte and wounded officers during a press conference:
Their courage saved lives. This cowardly attack on healthcare workers and law enforcement is unconscionable.
UPMC Memorial, a 104-bed facility in York, became the latest healthcare site scarred by gun violence. Recent years have seen escalating threats in medical settings:
- A 2023 New Hampshire psychiatric hospital shooting left a guard dead
- Two staffers killed during a Dallas hospital birth in 2022
- Fatal attacks in Atlanta and Tulsa clinics linked to patient grievances
The CDC notes healthcare workers sustain more nonfatal violent injuries than any other profession. As makeshift memorials grow outside West York PD, advocates demand urgent security reforms to protect both first responders and medical personnel.
