Retired cop kills himself at hospital
Osvaldo Torres walked into the emergency room at Albert Einstein Medical Center yesterday morning, sat for a few moments, then went to a nearby restrooom and shot himself to death.
Osvaldo Torres walked into the emergency room at Albert Einstein Medical Center yesterday morning, sat for a few moments, then went to a nearby restrooom and shot himself to death.
A patient in the ER waiting room said she was stunned and horrified when she heard the single gunshot blast that killed the 63-year-old retired police officer from Amber Street near Susquehanna Avenue in Kensington.
"The guards didn't react right away," said the woman, who gave her name only as Cheryl. "I got up and said, 'Something just happened in that bathroom.' "
Police said it was about 9:10 a.m. when Torres went into the restroom and shot himself in the head. He was pronounced dead 15 minutes later.
Cops recovered a 9 mm handgun and a suicide note but declined to provide further details. They did not say how long Torres had been on the force. He had been stationed at the 26th District, at Girard and Montgomery avenues.
"He just had this blank stare on his face. He walked in, sat down, and just stared," said Cheryl, who had been sitting next to Torres in the waiting room before the incident.
Cheryl said that Torres had sat next to her for only a few moments before going into the restroom.
"It's kind of scary to think what could have happened, because what if he had decided to shoot the whole place up? It's very sad," she said, taking a puff of her Newport cigarette.
Once hospital security guards realized the severity of the situation, they ushered the waiting patients into a nearby room, Cheryl said.
They also taped up white sheets on the windows of the waiting room while Torres' body was being removed. *
