An armed man wielding a pistol and carrying zip ties stormed into the intensive care unit (ICU) of UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, taking hospital staff hostage on Saturday, February 22, 2025. The standoff concluded with a fatal gunfire exchange that resulted in the deaths of the gunman and a police officer.
The assailant, identified as Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, aged 49, held a female staff member hostage at gunpoint, her hands tied with zip ties, when police intervened. West York Borough Police Officer Andrew Duarte was tragically killed during the confrontation. Three other hospital employees—a doctor, a nurse, and a custodian—along with two additional police officers, sustained injuries in the attack. Another staff member was hurt in a fall.
York County District Attorney Tim Barker reported that Archangel-Ortiz had visited the hospital’s ICU earlier in the week for “a medical purpose involving another individual” and seemed to have deliberately targeted the unit’s staff. It’s suggested that Archangel-Ortiz was distressed over what he perceived as inadequate care for a recently deceased family member who had been in the hospital’s ICU.
“This is a substantial loss for our community,” Barker declared during a press conference after the shooting. “It is beyond all doubt that the officers were justified in their decision to utilize deadly force.”
According to law enforcement, Archangel-Ortiz entered the hospital in the morning equipped with a semi-automatic handgun and zip ties. When the police arrived, he came out of the ICU, holding a hospital staff member hostage, leading the police officers to open fire.
Officer Duarte, the slain officer, was a seasoned law enforcement officer who joined the West York Borough Police Department in June 2022 after a five-year stint with the Denver Police Department. Prior to that, he served with the Ocean City Police Department.
Having just celebrated his 30th birthday in February, Duarte had garnered several awards during his career. These included a “hero award” from Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 2021 for his work in impaired driving enforcement in Colorado. He also received the Top Student Award for outstanding academic performance upon completing the Drug Recognition Expert program.
In his LinkedIn profile, Duarte described himself by saying, “I have a type A personality and like to succeed in all that I do.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro met with Duarte’s parents and injured officers on Saturday evening. “Their willingness to run toward danger helped save the lives of others,” Shapiro stated on social platform X, expressing his gratitude to law enforcement.
In honor of Duarte, the governor ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, and a procession was held for the fallen officer.
Nancy Duarte Matarese, Duarte’s mother, portrayed her son as a “mighty warrior” with a “warrior heart and a warrior spirit,” and expressed appreciation for the community’s support during this challenging time.
Condolences were also extended by Duarte’s former employer, the Denver Police Department, and his alma mater, PennWest California. The West York community has organized events to commemorate Duarte, including a memorial at the borough administrative office.
UPMC Memorial is a five-floor hospital with 104 beds that started operating in 2019 in York, a city with roughly 40,000 residents. According to Susan Manko, UPMC’s vice president of public relations, the hospital advised employees not scheduled to work on Saturday to stay home and directed visitors to use a parking lot opposite the hospital.
Multiple entities, including state and local law enforcement, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), collaborated in the ongoing investigation, as per authorities’ reports.
A hospital worker, Lester Mendoza, disclosed that he had interacted with Archangel-Ortiz in the days leading up to the incident, and had delivered the devastating news about the death of a family member. This news reportedly shattered Archangel-Ortiz.
Although no patients were harmed during the shooting, the incident has sparked concerns about public space safety, leading residents to question if even hospitals can be regarded as safe anymore.
The UPMC Memorial shooting incident is a part of an increasing trend of violence in healthcare settings across the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that healthcare has become one of the most violent sectors in the country, with more nonfatal injuries from workplace violence than any other profession.
In 2023, a shooter killed a security guard in the lobby of New Hampshire’s state psychiatric hospital before being shot and killed by a state trooper. In 2022, a man shot and killed two employees at a Dallas hospital while present for the birth of his child. In the same year, another man opened fire in a medical center waiting room in Atlanta, taking the life of one woman and injuring four others. A month later, a gunman in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killed his surgeon and three others at a medical office, blaming the doctor for persistent pain after a surgery.
In response to these growing threats, hospitals across the nation are implementing heightened security measures, including metal detectors and visitor screenings. However, experts stress the need for early identification of potential violent individuals to prevent such incidents from happening.
The investigation into the UPMC Memorial Hospital shooting continues, with authorities reviewing surveillance footage and collecting statements to ascertain the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.