SYCAMORE – At least one of the two people found dead inside a hospital room at Kindred Hospital Sycamore on Tuesday died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sycamore police said Wednesday.
"Other information we were able to develop suggests that one or both of the victims' deaths were self-inflicted," Sycamore Police Chief Don Thomas said.
Authorities are not yet releasing the identities of the people, a man and a woman who Thomas said lived outside the area. Officials are having difficulty contacting their relatives, he said.
Police were called to the hospital at 225 Edward St. at 5:50 p.m.Tuesday for a report of gunshots. A witness discovered the scene inside a patient room on the main floor where the man was staying, Sycamore Police Chief Don Thomas said.
“When we arrived, we found two victims who had died from gunshot wounds in a room in the hospital,” Thomas said.
Thomas said a woman who was visiting him at the hospital was the other person who died. He did not know why the man was in the hospital, but said the two were "significant others."
“We recovered a handgun [at the scene],” Thomas said. “… The hospital did not need to evacuate; we do not have a shooter at large.”
There were no witnesses to the shootings, Thomas said. However, he stressed there was no immediate danger to the general public.
“We want people to know we do not have a shooter at large,” Thomas said. “The situation is contained; the situation is secured.”
Kindred Hospital Sycamore is a 69-bed long-term acute care hospital. Officials from the hospital released a statement late Tuesday night.
"This is a sad and unfortunate situation," it read. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. We are cooperating with the local authorities. Due to patient confidentiality, we cannot comment further."
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