Scotland Memorial Hospital
/ David Bridgeman
Police say a Bennettsville man tried to kill two people at a hospital in Scotland County, North Carolina Monday morning. Officers say he managed to shoot one person several times, but the gun jammed when he tried to shoot the other person.
Police say the shooting stemmed from a fight at a Marlboro County nightclub and spilled over to Scotland Memorial Hospital in Laurinburg. Detectives say they're investigating if a murder that happened in Bennettsville a year ago was the motive behind Monday's shooting.
Laurinburg Police remained on the scene several hours after a shooting at Scotland Memorial Hospital. Investigators say just after 3 a.m., Wayne "Wolf" Simmons, 50, came to the emergency room. Hospital officials say he told nurses his relative had just been cut in a fight at the Ellison Club in nearby Marlboro County.
"The shooter showed up and allegedly identified himself as a brother of the patient asking to just go back and visit the patient, which seemed like a reasonable request," Greg Wood, CEO, Scotland Memorial, said.
So they allowed him to see Demario Covington, believing he was the patient's brother. Police say within seconds Simmons pulled out a gun and shot Covington several times.
He then pointed the gun at Covington's girlfriend and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed according to officers. At that point they say Simmons ran out of the hospital. "As soon as he left the emergency center the staff responded by one, calling 911, and two, letting the rest of the hospital know they needed to be on lockdown," Greg Wood said.
Hospital officials didn't allow anyone to come in or leave. Police got there within minutes and searched for Simmons.
"They came out the building and actually located the shooter in the parking lot walking through the parking lot, he actually acknowledged who he was," Chris Young, Laurinburg Police said. They immediately took him into custody.
Laurinburg Police are working with Marlboro County authorities to determine a motive. They want to know if the unsolved killing of Simmons' son at his home in Bennettsville back in December of 2008 had anything to do with the fight at the nightclub that led to the hospital shooting.
"Detectives have been interviewing him this morning and he's been cooperating," Young said.
Not long after police started interviewing Simmons, he started to have heart problems. Because he has a prior heart condition police took him to the hospital where he remains.
Demario Covington is listed in critical, but stable condition.
Simmons faces several charges including attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
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