BOSTON — A cardiac surgeon at a major Boston hospital died of gunshot wounds Tuesday evening, hours after he was shot by a man who opened fire inside the medical center and later killed himself, officials said.
Dr. Michael Davidson, director of endovascular cardiac surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, died as a result of the morning shooting that occurred at the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center, the hospital said in a statement late Tuesday.
The motive for the shooting was unclear. The city’s Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters the shooter, also male, had asked for his victim by name before the attack.
“There was a particular reason why he targeted this doctor,” Evans told reporters.
The suspect turned the gun on himself after shooting Davidson, Evans said. Police said they recovered the weapon used in the incident.
Brigham & Women’s, located in downtown Boston amid a cluster of major health care facilities, is a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.
“Dr. Davidson was a wonderful and inspiring cardiac surgeon who devoted his career to saving lives and improving the quality of life of every patient he cared for,” the hospital statement said. “It is truly devastating that his own life was taken in this horrible manner.”