SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Police say a southwest Missouri hospital patient has been fatally shot and his wife wounded in what a hospital official is calling an "isolated shooting incident."
The shooting happened Saturday night while 69-year-old wife Carolyn Cox was visiting her husband, 79-year-old Booker Cox Jr., on the ninth floor of CoxHealth in Springfield. Police said Booker Cox was pronounced dead not quite an hour later. Carolyn Cox is receiving medical treatment, and her condition isn't listed.
CoxHealth spokeswoman Stacy Fender said in a news release that the patient room where the shooting happened is part of a medical/surgical unit that provides generalized hospital care. She says the facility was never locked down and that patient care is not affected.
Police say the investigation is ongoing. No other details were immediately released.