Coroner: One killed at Geisinger, killer at large; PSP says incident isolated, no danger to public
Lynn: ‘This is a big family here. We need to come together and support them and their coworkers’
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH/SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Montour County Coroner Scott Lynn, Geisinger Nurse Leader Crystal Muthler, and Chief Medical Officer, central region, Rosemary Lemming brief the media on Dec. 30, 2022.
MAHONING TOWNSHIP, Montour County – One person was killed on the campus of one of the main trauma centers in eastern Pennsylvania, and the alleged killer is at large, officials said Friday.
The first 911 call came around 5pm for a reported shooting at Geisinger Medical Center in Mahoning Township, near Danville.
Montour County Coroner Scott Lynn said one person was killed in an employee parking lot off Red Lane near the Life Flight hangar on the campus.
“The suspect at the current time is unknown and still at large,” Lynn told the media Friday evening.
Lynn said the State Police at Milton are leading the investigation and that, while there were people in the area who heard commotion, there have been no direct eyewitnesses. He said the authorities are checking parking lot cameras for any evidence or leads.
After the incident was reported, Lynn said “the hospital put their emergency plans into action to protect their employees and patients.”
Just after 6pm, the Schuylkill County Communications Center told all EMS units in the county not to transport to Geisinger “under any circumstances” because of an ongoing police incident.
Lynn declined to provide further information on the victim as his office seeks next of kin.
As of 8:30pm, the hospital remained under lockdown and a floor-by-floor search was underway.
Lynn said that search was precautionary.
“It seems unlikely that the suspect was within the hospital,” Rosemary Lemming, chief medical officer for Geisinger’s central region said. “They are conducting that search to ensure the safety of all the employees and patients.”
Lemming said the hospital’s Crisis Response Team has been activated and counseling will be provided to any employee in need.
“It is a very good group of individuals,” Lemming said, speaking of the team.
“Our employees will be deeply affected by this,” Geisinger Nurse Leader Crystal Muthler said. “This is a big place but it’s staffed all the people of the small towns that surround us.”
“What we need to keep in mind here, as newspaper reporters and us investigators, this is a big family here,” Lynn said. “We need to come together and support them and their coworkers because this is traumatizing even if you did not witness it.”
Lynn said, as of 8pm, the hospital was accepting patients once again.
“They have put precautions into place for arriving ambulances and so forth,” Lynn said.
Lynn said law enforcement from across Montour and Columbia counties responded to the hospital.
Friday evening, police vehicles from Danville, Mahoning Township, Bloomsburg, and Montour Township were seen around the campus.
State Police said late Friday that the incident “is believe to be an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public at this time.”
The parking lot and adjacent area were locked down Friday as authorities conducted their investigation.
Lynn said further information will be released as the investigation progresses.
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