Ex-police chief IDd as N.H. hospital shooting victim

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The victim of a fatal shooting at a New Hampshire hospital was identified Saturday as a former police chief of a city not far from where the incident happened.

Officials confirmed former Franklin Police Department chief Bradley Haas was killed during the shooting Friday at the New Hampshire Hospital in Concord.

Haas was working as a security officer for the New Hampshire Department of Safety when he was shot around 3:30 p.m. in the acute psychiatric hospital.

Paramedics performed life-saving care before transporting him to a local hospital where he later died from the single gunshot.

The 63-year-old spent 28 years at the Franklin Police Department, where he started as a patrol officer before retiring as chief.

He also served three years as a Military Police officer in the U.S. Army.

Haas was shot in the hospital's lobby, and police said Friday no patients at the 185-bed hospital were hurt.

A New Hampshire state trooper assigned to provide security at the hospital shot and killed the suspected gunman.

"Make no mistake, if not for the heroics and sacrifice of Bradley Haas, the bravery of the New Hampshire Hospital staff, the unflinching response of New Hampshire State Police, this tragedy could have been much, much worse", Gov. Chris Sununu told reporters during a news conference updating the situation Saturday.

The hospital is located in Concord, N.H., 21 miles north of Franklin, a city of 8,700 people, making it the smallest city in the state.