Healthcare workers return to Wilmington Hospital day after deadly shooting: "It's sadness"

Staff members at Wilmington Hospital in Delaware remain shaken up one day after an employee shot two coworkers, killing one.

Police on Wednesday identified the suspect as 23-year-old John Wallace-Bey, who is in custody. ChristianaCare confirmed that Wallace-Bey and the two victims were all employees. Both victims are 19 years old, but police have yet to release their names. One of the victims died, and the other remains in critical but stable condition.

John Richardson lives next door to Wallace-Bey in New Castle.

"I'm shocked. Like you talk about it happening closer to home, literally next door to where I stay," Richardson said. "So, I'm just in complete shock that it happened. It's just an unfortunate situation. Both families impacted, the victim and the shooter's as well. Both ways around, it's just a sad situation."

The hospital went on lockdown as SWAT teams went door to door searching for the suspected shooter.

Richardson's wife, Niesha, said she never could have imagined that her neighbor would be at the center of it all.

"He seemed quiet, to himself," Niesha Richardson said. "Nothing out of the ordinary where we would expect something like this."

John Richardson provided CBS News Philadelphia doorbell video that showed police cars parked in the neighborhood, but detectives didn't find Wallace-Bey at his home.

After a six-hour manhunt, police tracked Wallace-Bey down and arrested him in Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood. Wallace-Bey is charged with murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed deadly weapon.

"Really hard to understand the reasoning why," Wilmington Council President Trippi Congo said.

According to Wallace-Bey's LinkedIn profile, he worked in IT at ChristianaCare and has an interest in coding.

Police haven't discussed a motive for the shooting, but Congo said workplace violence is a growing problem.

"We have to take a holistic look at how we are raising our younger generation," Congo said. "I don't think it's fair to place that burden on a workplace."

At last check, Wallace-Bey was still in Pennsylvania awaiting extradition to Delaware.

Wilmington Hospital nurse describes being back on job: "Sadness"

It's been an emotional and traumatizing 24 hours for many people working inside the hospital. On Wednesday, many of them were grieving. One day after the deadly shooting inside Wilmington Hospital, doctors, nurses and healthcare workers were back on the job.

Many who spoke with CBS News Philadelphia describe the mood on the medical campus as somber but supportive.

"It's sadness. Our patients are still coming in," a nurse who did not want to be identified said. "We have support from upper leadership and everything, so that makes everything easier, and they caught him."

The shooting Tuesday afternoon triggered a massive response and sent fear across multiple floors. A nurse said she and her co-workers were locked in an exam room as investigators searched for the shooter.

"Once they said active shooter, we knew that meant somebody was on the premises with a gun shooting," the nurse said.

As the hospital went on lockdown, Joseph Payne said he could hear sirens blaring. He was inside for a physical therapy appointment.

"We didn't know what it was at first," Payne said, "and then the staff came in and said, 'OK, we're all going to consolidate into one room, no windows, get behind a door.'"

Many employees said they're thinking of the victims, and although nerves were still rattled, they came back to work to help people.

"That's why we're here," a nurse said. "We came to work today for our patients."

The nurses and doctors said a number of resources have been made available for everyone working at the hospital, including counseling services that will be available for the next few days.

A look at security measures at Philadelphia-area hospitals

There is no universal federal mandate for hospital security, but many hospitals in the Philadelphia area do have metal detectors at emergency departments and more advanced weapon detection technology.

According to government data, healthcare workers are five times more likely to be the victims of workplace violence compared to other American workers.

In 2021, a nursing assistant at Jefferson University Hospital shot and killed another nursing assistant. Jefferson then made changes to some security protocols, including more screening at all entrances.

In 2014, a patient shot and killed his case worker and injured his doctor at a medical building at Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Delaware County.

CBS News Philadelphia is still working to learn the exact security details of Wilmington Hospital prior to Tuesday's shooting.

On Wednesday, Maureen Rush, a public safety expert, told CBS News Philadelphia that security guards and metal detectors at emergency departments are common, but she says more sophisticated weapon detection technology at all hospital entrances is becoming more widespread.

"That's why it doesn't matter who you are. It should be unified," Rush said. "Everyone is going through the same process because, unfortunately, workplace violence is real."

CBS News Philadelphia reached out to many of the health systems in the region. Many are already using advanced gun technology systems, including Penn and Main Line Health.