The University of Chicago Medical Center is adding more security measures to the hospital after a fight broke out in the emergency room Sunday night, leaving three employees injured.
About 8:20 p.m., a group of 15 to 20 people entered the emergency room at the hospital, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., following a shooting just a block away in Washington Park. The group then moved into patient treatment areas when a fight broke out, prompting a lockdown of the department, according to Ashley Heher, a spokeswoman at the hospital.
A person who was with the group also reported being injured, Heher said.
Security at the hospital removed the entire group from the treatment area less than two minutes after the brawl started and no weapons were found inside the hospital or on the group members, Heher said.
In response to the incident, hospital management said it has spoken with frontline staff and is reviewing its security measures to ensure safety.
“We are also reviewing other security measures we can implement moving forward that will work in tandem with our new weapons detection system, which was installed last week,” Heher said.
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