It was the news of his mother’s health that sent a man over the edge at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Thursday. Upon hearing the update, he shot the doctor. Then headed to his mother’s room, where he killed her and took his own life.
The gunman, later identified as Paul Warren Pardus, had been receiving an update from the doctor about his mother’s health when he became visibly distraught. At that point he retrieved a gun from his waistband and shot the doctor, leaving him wounded. Pardus then went into his mother’s room. Police later found them both dead from single gunshot wounds. Pardus had no criminal history beyond traffic violations.
The mother was identified as Jean Davis. Privacy laws prevent any disclosure of her condition or illness.
The floor of the hospital was closed off after the initial shooting occurred at 11 am. When authorities entered the mother’s room, neither the gunman nor his mother were alive. None of the officers heard the gunshots that took their lives.
The case is being treated as a murder-suicide, according to Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld.
The doctor’s name has not been released to the public. He underwent surgery for the wound and it’s expected that he will survive.
