Nepean Hospital placed into lockdown after shooting
The Nepean Hospital at Kingswood in Sydney's west. Photo: www.nbmlhd.health.nsw.gov.au
Operations at Nepean Hospital in Sydney’s west are slowly returning to normal after a 54-year-old man armed with two knives was shot by police.
NSW Police responded to an incident about 4pm on Thursday at the hospital in Derby Street, Kingswood in which the man was shot in the stomach after allegedly trying to stab an officer.
The hospital was immediately placed in lockdown.
The injured man is in a stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery.
It’s alleged the man was shot in the abdomen after earlier making threats to a security guard near the entrance to a hospital building.
Police also confirmed that specialist officers attended the scene after bomb threats were made.
Nepean hospital in lockdown. Roads blocked, bomb squad on site, evacuations and exclusion zones in place, person allegedly shot by police after producing and menacing with a knife.
Stay well clear.— Phantsy (@phantom1969) October 4, 2018
Penrith: Reports that a person who arrived at Nepean Hospital holding a knife, has been shot by police. #Penrith #7News https://t.co/wx0pJprpkF
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) October 4, 2018
Nepean Hospital general manager Brett Williams said the hospital’s emergency department had been temporarily closed, with ambulances being diverted to other hospitals at Blacktown, Liverpool, Hawkesbury or Mt Druitt.
The hospital later tweeted that visitors would not be allowed at the hospital “while we manage the situation”.
“Patients, staff and visitor safety is our top priority,” Mr Williams said.
About 8.45pm on Thursday, the hospital tweeted that the birth unit was open but that the emergency department remained closed.
INCIDENT UPDATE | We regret at the moment visitors are not allowed at Nepean Hospital. Thank you for your patience while we manage the situation.
— Nepean Blue Mts LHD (@NBMLHD) October 4, 2018
It is believed the man was not a patient at the hospital, ABC reports, and that a number of police were already at the facility, attending to another matter.
Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes described the incident as “extremely disturbing”.
“Without pre-judging the situation, hospital security generally is at crisis point. The time for talk has been and gone,” he said in a statement.
He called for more security officers with special constable powers in NSW hospitals immediately.
A police officer almost lost his life in early 2016 after being shot twice in the leg while struggling with a drug-affected patient at the same hospital.
Sergeant Luke Warburton was the first officer to arrive at Nepean’s emergency ward more than two years ago after a 39-year-old man allegedly held a pair of scissors to the throat of a female doctor.
-with AAP