82-Year-Old Man, 79-Year-Old Woman Dead After Shooting At Wilmington Nursing Home Facility, Police Say
WILMINGTON, Del (CBS) -- An elderly man and woman are dead after a shooting at a nursing home. The incident happened shortly after 1 p.m. at ManorCare Health Services-Wilmington on Saturday.
For hours there was worry and concern for families waiting for answers.
"Everybody's worried and concerned just like you would be if there's an active shooter where your relative would be staying," Donna Taylor, of Townsend, Delaware, said.
Police were called to ManorCare in Wilmington just after 1 p.m. Saturday. When they got there, they found two people with apparent gunshot wounds, but people with relatives were left in the dark.
"Right now we don't know anything," Taylor said. "We're told that they are being secured and our family is safe, but we have not heard from any of our relatives. I haven't heard from my grandmother."
The nursing home was evacuated and relatives were told to go to a nearby school. About 30 of them waited for answers.
It wasn't until after 6:30 p.m. that police told them what happened.
An 82-year-old man and a 79-year-old woman were dead. A handgun was recovered at the scene. No one else was hurt. The woman was a resident of ManorCare, officials say.
Relatives say they feel less secure with their loved ones there.
"You have to be concerned about the safety issues because someone was able to walk in with a gun and do what he did while everyone else is working," Arlene Eaddy-Beard, of Wilmington, said. "My mom will be coming home. If I can get her tonight, we would just take her home."
A spokesperson for ManorCare Health Services-Wilmington says the nursing home is "shocked and saddened by the isolated tragedy."
"We are shocked and saddened by the isolated tragedy that occurred earlier today," a spokesperson said. "Our thoughts are with our resident's family. This is a challenging and emotional time for all of us and we have bereavement representatives in the center working with our staff and patients.
"We are also in the process of calling family members and assessing our patients and residents. Our administrative team is on site and working with authorities. The police have just cleared the center and are allowing our team access. Our priority right now is to our residents, patients, their families and our staff."
Police have not released the names of the victims.
The cause of death remains under investigation as an autopsy will soon be performed.
The investigation remains ongoing.
CBS3's Howard Monroe and Dan Koob contributed to this report.
