Psychiatric Patient Opens Fire, Is Shot by Doctor

Police near Philadelphia say a psychiatric patient opened fire inside his doctor's office today, killing his caseworker and injuring the doctor—but the doctor then pulled a gun of his own and shot the patient three times, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The patient was in critical condition, while the 52-year-old doctor was grazed in the head by a bullet and is expected to recover. "We're not sure exactly what happened," says the Delaware County DA of today's incident at the Sister Marie Lenahan Wellness Center in Darby.

Witnesses and police say the patient, identified as Richard Plotts, entered the doctor's office with his 53-year-old female caseworker, and soon shouting could be heard from the room, reports NBC Philadelphia. One worker reported opening the door and seeing Plotts with a gun pointed at the doctor. Someone then called 911, but shooting erupted before officers arrived. Plotts got shot twice in the torso and once in the arm. (More Philadelphia stories.)