“A lot of people didn’t know what was going on,” said Shae Spicer, a registered nurse at Jefferson. “A lot of people on that side of the building on the higher floors could hear gunshots so they immediately went into action and hid.”
Sources say 55-year-old Stacey Hayes drove to the hospital in a U-Haul, walked inside wearing blue scrubs and shot his coworker who has been identified by family as 43-year-old nursing assistant Anrae James.
RELATED: Sources identify suspected gunman who killed Jefferson Hospital coworker, injured 2 Philly officers
Surveillance video reportedly shows Hayes walk up behind the victim and open fire while he was seated at his work station, according to sources. Hayes then allegedly kept firing as Anrae James tried to run away.
Hayes, who police say was armed with multiple weapons and equipped with body armor, then fled the hospital in the U-Haul. He later shot and wounded two officers before being wounded himself by police returning fire.
The victim’s father, William James, says Anrae is survived by his wife, two girls and a boy.
“(He) participated in sports with his 11-year-old son, took his daughter back and forth to work and had two jobs. He was a good man. And for him to go out like that from someone like that is heartbreaking.”
James says he was extremely proud of the man Anrae had become.
“He was an asset to society, raising up a good family,” said James.
But he’s also confused about how someone could get weapons inside of the hospital.
“How did he get in there with a gun?” asked James.
A spokesperson for Jefferson Hospital said in a statement, “Our hearts are broken as we stand together to remember our colleague and recognize his teammates who tried to save him and protect other patients in the area.”
The hospital said it would conduct a thorough review of safety protocols after the incident.
Spicer said she hopes this is a wake-up call for the hospital to improve security measures.
“It’s definitely a concern for all of us that someone could walk in with a weapon like that or multiple weapons and can do that to one of our own staff,” she said.
Outside of Jefferson Hospital, Anrae also worked as a barber for many years at Custom Cutz in the city’s Ogontz section.
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