A senior kills his dying wife to end her suffering, points the gun at himself

Mar 20, 2013 08:03 GMT  ·  By
A murder-suicide has taken place at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania
   A murder-suicide has taken place at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania

A man has killed his wife and taken his own life in the hospice wing of a hospital in Allentown, Lehigh County in Pennsylvania.

According to CBS Philly, the shooting incident took place on the Lehigh Valley Hospital campus at approximately 1 p.m., on Tuesday, March 19, in a hospice facility located on the fourth floor.

Senior Elwood Osman shot his 83-year-old wife Mildred while she was hospitalized with what was presumably a terminal illness that caused her a great deal of physical distress.

NY Daily News reported that the elderly gunman used the same weapon to take his own life while he was in the same room as his wife.

No other patients in the hospital or members of the staff have been threatened or injured during the incident, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin has said during a press conference.

“Contrary to some rumors, this was not an active shooter situation. No other patients were in jeopardy,” Martin stresses.

Hospital officials suggest that the killing has been motivated by the man's love for his wife, whom he has seen in pain for a while.

There have been no witnesses to the incident and Mildred Osman's medical condition has not been disclosed at this point.

“Three hospital personnel heard what they interpreted as a gunshot; it drew them to a room on the fourth floor of the Lehigh Valley Hospital,” Martin describes.

“It’s a love story. [...] The elderly gentleman could not bear to see his wife suffering, and the family, I believe, have observed that he could not envision living without her,” says Lehigh Valley Health Network Senior Vice President of Operations, Jim Geiger.

“This is a very tragic event and our hearts go out to the family of the deceased and our Lehigh Valley health Network colleagues who were involved,” hospital reps add in a statement.