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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 9, 1993                   TAG: 9302090227
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

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3 DOCTORS SHOT AT LA HOSPITAL

A heavily armed man yelling for pain medicine shot and critically wounded three doctors in a hospital emergency room Monday, authorities said. He then held two women hostage for several hours before freeing them unharmed and surrendering.

The man had told police negotiators he was a disgruntled former patient. "It apparently has to do with what he perceives to be poor medical treatment," Lt. John Dunkin said.

The shootings happened at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, familiar to millions as the model for "General Hospital" in the ABC-TV soap opera. It is one of the nation's largest hospitals, with more than 2,000 beds.

After the gunman surrendered, police recovered a .44-caliber Magnum, a .38-caliber automatic pistol, a sawed-off rifle of unknown caliber and a hunting knife, Deputy Police Chief Robert Gil said. Gil said he didn't know how the man got the weapons into the hospital.

Gil identified the gunman as Damacio Ibarra Torres, 40, of Los Angeles.

The gunman entered the walk-in emergency room at 12:40 p.m. and opened fire on a group of doctors sitting at a desk near the door, hospital spokesman Harvey Kern said.

The attacker then took two hostages - a doctor and a hospital receptionist - and was barricaded in an X-ray room near the emergency room, on the hospital's first floor, Dunkin said. The area was cordoned off and SWAT members were called in.

Almost five hours after the shooting, and following more than three hours of telephone negotiations, the gunman released the hostages shaken but unharmed. Two minutes later he emerged unarmed, Dunkin said.

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