Active shooter reports at South Jersey hospital prompt brief lockdown, investigation of patient suicide

Inspira Medical Center in Vineland was briefly on lockdown after reports of an active shooter Saturday morning.

Police responded “within minutes” and were able to determine the shooting was “an isolated incident,” the Vineland Police Department wrote in an alert posted on their website Saturday. A patient, whose identity has not been released by authorities, died by suicide.

On Monday, a spokesperson for Inspira said the health system is conducting an internal review.

“We thank the Vineland Police Department and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office as well as other law enforcement officials for all their efforts during this difficult time,” Kathy Scullin-Marinelli, Inspira’s senior vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement. “Most especially we thank our staff who reacted appropriately, compassionately and professionally during this incident.”

Inspira Medical Center in Vineland is one of four hospitals the health system owns in Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland Counties.

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Violence at hospitals is on the rise, with physical assault rising to the top of common workplace injuries for hospital staff. In 2021, Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation found that some hospital jobs, such as nursing, have become almost as risky as working in a coal mine or metal manufacturing plant.

In Philadelphia, Jefferson University Hospital’s protocols for responding to active shooter threats came under scrutiny in 2021 after a nursing assistant was fatally shot by a coworker. Officials at the Philadelphia hospital acknowledged it took them too long to notify staffers of an active shooting situation.