Man gunned down in ER after he, girlfriend had altercation with shooter outside hospital: Police

A man is dead, and a woman was wounded after a shooter opened fire at them Wednesday night in a hospital emergency room in Tacoma, Washington, KIRO-TV reported.

Tacoma police said the apparent targeted attack took place just after 7 p.m. inside the emergency room of MultiCare Allenmore Hospital on South Union Avenue, the station said.

'I know that she's pretty shaken up because her boyfriend, I guess, like, pushed her out of the way, so she just watched him get shot pretty bad, you know.'

The female victim — a 21-year-old — was grazed by gunfire and is recovering, but her boyfriend was killed in the shooting, KIRO reported.

Medical workers attempted lifesaving efforts before the man was pronounced dead, the Seattle Times reported.

Police said the couple got into a fight with the suspect outside the hospital prior to the shooting, the station said, after which the suspect followed them into the ER and opened fire.

It's not clear if the fight prior to the shooting was verbal, physical, or both.

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"I know that she's pretty shaken up because her boyfriend, I guess, like, pushed her out of the way, so she just watched him get shot pretty bad, you know," the female victim's uncle told KIRO in an exclusive interview. "I'm more worried about her mental and emotional state right now, more than anything."

In a statement released Wednesday night, a MultiCare Allenmore official told the station the hospital was on restricted access due to the shooting; by Thursday morning, the hospital was operating normally.

"The emergency department is open for walk-ins, but the waiting room remains closed due to a police investigation," the statement reads, according to KIRO. "Ambulances are still being diverted."

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No hospital workers were hurt in the shooting, police told the Times.

Detectives and crime scene technicians were actively investigating the shooting as a homicide, police told the station, adding that no arrests have been made as of early Thursday morning.

Police on Thursday didn't immediately reply to Blaze News' questions regarding the shooter's physical description, if the couple knew the shooter, what sparked the altercation before the shooting, or what kind of gun the shooter used.

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