Gunman fires shots inside Baptist Health Hardin in Elizabethtown ER, officer shoots assailant

officer-involved-shooting-06-09
officer-involved-shooting-06-09

There has been an officer-involved shooting at Baptist Health Hardin in Elizabethtown.

The shooting occurred at approximately 5:00 Saturday morning when Elizabethtown officers responded to multiple shots fired in the emergency room of the hospital, according to Elizabethtown Police Department Public Affairs Officer Chris Denham.

The hospital is located at 913 North Dixie Avenue.

An officer arrived on the scene within minutes and made contact with an armed, adult male. During the encounter, the officer shot the armed gunman, who was airlifted to University of Louisville Hospital, Denham said.

His current condition is unknown. No one else was injured during the incident.

Denham, during a media briefing only three hours after the shooting, praised the hospital’s unarmed security staff for their brave actions.

“I really want to commend the efforts of the Baptist Health Hardin security staff. They contacted an armed gunman, unarmed. We’re really, really proud of them for the job they did. … The security guards on-scene were unarmed and were very courageous and they confronted an armed adversary.”

The criminal investigation regarding the initial shooting by the suspect will be conducted by the Elizabethtown PD. The officer-involved shooting investigation will be led by the Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team.

No other information has been released. K105 will provide additional information on the incident as it becomes available.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com