Guard at New Hampshire State Hospital shot dead, identified
A 63-year-old guard at the New Hampshire State Hospital in Concord was shot to death Friday afternoon while working in the lobby.
Bradley Haas, 63, of Franklin, N.H., a state Department of Safety Security Officer, was working at the hospital’s front lobby entrance when an unidentified assailant shot him at around 3:30 p.m. Friday, according to a statement from the New Hampshire attorney general’s office.
“We are shocked and saddened by today’s incident at the New Hampshire State Hospital,” Lori Weaver, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, said at a press conference held later in the day. “All patients and hospital staff are safe. Our hearts go out to the family of the victim as well as our colleagues who have been impacted.”
The State Police received a call about the shooting at 3:38 p.m., according to a press conference held by Col. Mark Hall later in the day. He said that while CPR and other life-saving measures were performed at the scene, Haas succumbed to his injuries.
The shooter, who authorities were not identifying Friday night, was also killed during the incident.
“A State Trooper assigned to the hospital and in close proximity immediately engaged, shot and killed the suspect,” Col. Hall said in the press conference. “The entire incident was contained within the lobby of the hospital.
Haas worked as a young man as a military police officer for the U.S. Army for three years before then serving in the Franklin Police Department for 28 years, according to the AG statement. He started as a patrol officer before rising to chief of the department.
Other responders included other members of the State Police, Concord Police officers, State Complex Police officers and deputies with the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office as well as members of the Concord Fire Department.
A media briefing is scheduled for Saturday morning.