London Police are investigating after shots were fired at London Health Sciences Centre’s Victoria Campus and truck struck the emergency room entrance.
Police say early Saturday morning at 2:30 a.m., they responded to a reported shooting in the area of Commissioners Road East and Wellington Road, the south western corner of hospital grounds.
After arriving on scene officers found that a pickup truck had struck a cement pillar outside of the emergency room entrance to the hospital.
Police say they found evidence that a gun had been fired multiple times and that the vehicle, and the outside of the building, had been struck by bullets.
A man suffered non-life-threatening injuries and remains in hospital, police say.
Investigators do not believe this was a random incident.
Through the course of the investigation, officers say they learned that there was an earlier altercation between the victim and the shooter in the area of White Oaks and Southdale roads.
London Police sergeant and media relations officer Sandasha Bough say the individual appears to have been the target of this incident, not the hospital.
Bough says the vehicle the victim was driving is the one that struck the hospital but could not say if the shots were fired before or after it happened.
“We do know that shots were fired outside the hospital as well as an earlier interaction that involved the victim and the suspect vehicle,” Bough says.
In a statement London Health Sciences Centre says it called a Code Silver at Victoria Hospital at 2:30 a.m. this morning.
“We worked with London Police Service to ensure the safety of our patients, staff and physicians, and the Code Silver was cleared by 8:54 a.m. We sustained some damage to the exterior of our Victoria Hospital Emergency Department, which is currently being repaired,” the statement reads.
A Code Silver is a planned response to ensure the safety of all health-care workers, patients, and visitors at LHSC if there is a threat, attempt or active use of a weapon.
At this time, the health centre says the focus “is on ensuring the wellness of our people, recognizing a Code Silver can be upsetting and stressful.”
Resources are being offered to support the hospital’s team and out of an abundance of caution, LHSC has increased security at Victoria Hospital, Children’s Hospital and University Hospital.
The gunman’s vehicle is described as a 4-door silver or grey sedan, possibly a Hyundai Sonata.
Investigators are asking anyone who may have dash-cam footage or video surveillance in the areas of White Oaks and Southdale roads or Commissioners Road East and Wellington Road between 2:10 – 2:35 a.m., or information that can assist with the investigation, to contact police.
Police say the investigation is in its early stages, and more information will be released as appropriate.