By MARK SCOLFORO | Related Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A funeral service might be held later this week for a Pennsylvania police officer shot and killed whereas responding to a hospital intensive care unit the place authorities mentioned a gunman had shot three hospital workers and brought workers members hostage final weekend.
West York Patrolman Andrew Duarte’s funeral Friday at a church in Purple Lion, Pennsylvania, might be livestreamed however not open to most people.
Folks place flowers in entrance of the West York Police Division after a police officer was killed responding to a capturing at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Picture/Matt Rourke)
An post-mortem Monday concluded his dying was brought on by being shot within the torso on Saturday inside UPMC Memorial Hospital in York. Duarte, 30, was declared lifeless shortly after midday that day at a special hospital, the place he was taken for remedy.
Authorities mentioned Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49, introduced a gun and zip ties to the intensive care unit earlier than responding officers shot and killed him. 5 others have been wounded — officers from two different native police businesses, a health care provider, a nurse and a member of the hospital’s custodial workers.
The coroner’s workplace mentioned Archangel-Ortiz lived only a couple blocks away from the police division the place Duarte labored. His post-mortem is deliberate for Tuesday.
York County District Lawyer Tim Barker mentioned Saturday that Archangel-Ortiz appeared to have had latest contact with the ICU “for a medical purpose involving another person.” Officers haven’t spoken publicly about that incident or disclosed his motive.
“It is absolutely clear and beyond any and all doubt that the officers were justified in taking their action and using deadly force,” Barker advised reporters Saturday. “Quite frankly, they needed to use deadly force because by doing so, they potentially saved even more lives, even as they lost one of their own.”
Duarte started work for West York in 2022 after 5 years with the Denver Police Division, based on his LinkedIn profile. He described receiving a “hero award” in 2021 from Moms Towards Drunk Driving for his work in impaired driving enforcement for the state of Colorado. His household directed memorial donations to teams that fight drunk driving.
Balloons are positioned in entrance of UPMC Memorial Hospital after a lethal capturing in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Picture/Matt Rourke)
An obituary posted Monday known as Duarte a hero to his household and group. It famous that he had been born in Oakland, graduated from Berean Christian Excessive Faculty in Walnut Creek, and had a level in prison justice and police science from California College of Pennsylvania. His pursuits included images, guitar, climbing and touring. Survivors embrace his mother and father and his girlfriend.
Northern York County Regional Police Chief David Lash mentioned Sunday that one in every of his officers who was wounded within the capturing had been launched from hospital remedy and was anticipated to totally recuperate. Lash thanked state troopers who utilized a tourniquet to the wounded officer’s leg and supplied life-saving care till he could possibly be transported.
The opposite wounded officer, a member of the Springettsbury Township Police Division, has additionally been launched from hospital care and is recovering at residence, Chief Todd King mentioned in a Fb submit on Monday. It’s probably that officer will recuperate totally, King mentioned.
The capturing was the most recent episode of a wave of gun violence in recent times that has swept via U.S. hospitals and medical facilities, which have struggled to adapt to the rising threats. Such assaults have contributed to creating well being care one of many nation’s most harmful fields, with staff struggling extra nonfatal accidents from office violence than staff in every other occupation, based on the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
