Two shot at Wilmington Hospital as police investigate possible workplace shooting

A shooting at Wilmington Hospital sent ChristianaCare’s downtown campus into lockdown Tuesday, forced the emergency department onto divert and brought a large police, fire and medic response to the 500 block of West 14th Street. Police said they were investigating a possible active shooter situation after two people were shot inside the hospital.

Officials said the injured employees’ conditions were not immediately known. Early information suggested the incident may have been a workplace shooting involving one hospital employee and two co-workers, and investigators said the suspect’s name was known to police. They also believed the suspect may have been a temporary employee, though that information remained preliminary as the investigation continued.

The scene around the hospital was active for much of the afternoon, with officers, firefighters and medics visible near the campus. Scanner traffic described one victim with a neck wound and another with an upper-body wound, and a text message sent to employees said the victims were reportedly struck in the basement. The public was urged to avoid the area while police worked the scene.

Wilmington Hospital is one of ChristianaCare’s major facilities and also serves as a corporate headquarters site for the health system. The campus includes 321 beds, a 622,100-square-foot footprint, a Level III trauma emergency department and a helipad, making the disruption especially significant for emergency care in the city’s core.

The Wilmington Police Department said it was on scene and continuing the investigation. The department traces its roots to 1739 and has 305 sworn officers, underscoring the scale of the response as authorities worked to secure the hospital and determine exactly what happened inside one of Wilmington’s most important medical facilities.