Gunman Slain After Killing 4, Wounding 19 at AF Base : Crime: Rampage at hospital by military man is the bloodiest in history of Spokane, Wash. Ten people remain in critical condition.

In the bloodiest shooting rampage in this city’s history, a gunman toting an assault rifle marched into the Fairchild Air Force Base hospital and opened fire Monday, killing four people and wounding 19 others before he was slain by a military police officer.

The unidentified assailant sprayed random gunfire from an AK-47 as he strode through the base emergency room, into the hospital and a three-story annex, authorities said.

The gunman, a military man assigned to the base, was shot and killed a short time later by a base police officer on bicycle patrol in the hospital’s parking lot. The grisly scene unfolded before more than 100 witnesses shortly after 3 p.m.

Authorities said the dead man carried military identification, but his military affiliation was unclear. No motive was immediately apparent for the massacre.

At least two children were among the injured, including a 4-year-old boy who remained in critical condition after undergoing surgery late Monday at a Spokane-area hospital. Nine others were listed in critical condition at area hospitals. Names of the dead and injured were withheld pending notification of relatives.

“There were wounds in arms, legs, abdomens and chests,” said Dr. Greg Jones, an emergency room physician at Deaconess Medical Center. “Fortunately, we had no head wounds.”

A witness, Todd Boyle, heard gunshots and glanced out the window of his apartment to see a man clad in black drop to the ground amid dust clouds raised by bullets striking the dirt near his feet.

“It was real crazy out there,” Boyle said. “There was a lot of screaming and people were ducking behind cars. A medic dove into a dumpster for cover.

“Police approached the man in black from all angles. He was dead and bloody from his shoulders up. A rifle was lying next to the body,” said Boyle, a senior aircraft mechanic stationed at Fairchild.

Rebecca Vanover, who also lives in military housing opposite the hospital, rushed to her window after hearing “popping noises that kept getting nearer and nearer.”

“It was a madhouse, and it was too close for comfort,” Vanover said. “People were running all over the place. Kids were screaming. Sirens were going off. Police were breaking windows at the annex. I’ve never seen so many helicopters overhead.”

The shooting sent law enforcement and emergency medical crews scrambling to the scene in firetrucks, helicopters and ambulances from communities as far as 26 miles away, Spokane Fire Department Dispatcher Luke Cussins said.

“We activated a multi-agency disaster plan for mass casualty incidents that had been drilled and revised for years, but never used,” Cussins said. “Things went very smoothly for us.”

“Several of the victims are women and children and some of the children are critical,” added Cussins. In all, he said, 16 people were “transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center, Deaconess Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital and Valley General Hospital--that’s every hospital in the region.”

“Things were pretty fast-paced here,” said Pam Pyrc, spokeswoman for Deaconess, where six people, including the 4-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy, were admitted for treatment of gunshot wounds. Three of the injured were in critical condition, and three others were in serious condition, she said.

At least three people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, Pyrc said.

Initial reports of a second gunman forced emergency helicopters to circle the scene for nearly an hour as law enforcement authorities, including FBI agents and military SWAT teams, searched the hospital grounds and evacuated nearby housing units, Cussins said. Those reports turned out to be erroneous.

Fairchild Air Force Base, 10 miles west of Spokane, is a former bomber base that is being converted to an air refueling base as part of military downsizing.