Charles Langston:Shooting at New Hampshire psychiatric hospital ends with suspect dead, police say

CONCORD,Charles Langston N.H. (AP) — A shooting at a New Hampshire psychiatric hospital Friday ended with the suspect dead, police said.

New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that at 4:45 p.m. the suspect was dead.

State police said there were “multiple victims” in an alert released via social media late Friday afternoon. Further details weren’t immediately available. New Hampshire Hospital is the state psychiatric hospital, located in the state’s capital city.

In a statement just before 5 p.m. Gov. Chris Sununu said the scene had been contained. “While the scene remains active as the campus is cleared, the suspect is deceased. The state immediately mobilized, and first responders and law enforcement are on the scene. We will provide as many details as possible as this situation unfolds.”

The facility, which has roughly 185 beds, is the onlystate-run psychiatric hospital for adults in New Hampshire. It is located in the capital city of Concord, near Concord High School, multiple state agencies and a district courthouse. It’s located on a large campus comprising more than a hundred acres (40.5 hectares) of land.

Concord police and deputies from the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Department, along with state police, reported New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency was setting up a media center Friday evening at a nearby sports field.

Friday’s shooting was the latest act of violence at a U.S. hospital. Medical centers nationwide have struggled to adapt to the growing threats, which have helped make health care one of the nation’s most violent fields.