A medical doctor was fatally shot in his Southern California medical office Monday, possibility the victim of an attack by a patient. At around 2:24 PM on Monday police responded to 911 calls reporting six to seven gunshots heard around the Hoag Hospital in Orange County, Newport police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe told police.

The Daily Pilot has identified the victim as Dr. Ronald Gilbert who worked as an urologist at Orange Coast Urology.

Office worker Becky Calderwood told police that the shooter was an elderly patient. “I sit right at the front desk; I would have caught the first bullet. This is nuts; people are just shooting all the time,” she said.

Kristen Crotty worked right above the doctor’s office and heard the gun shots, but brushed it off as possible construction work. Crotty remained clueless about what happened until she called building services and was instructed to lock her doors.

The shaken office worker opened up to the Orange County Register about the shooting. “What is going on in the world today? I mean schools, now I got to worry about going to work. This has got to stop”, Crotty said.

Police entered the examination room to find the victim and immediately arrested the shooter without further incident. The alleged elderly shooter was led out of the building in handcuffs wearing a baseball cap and taken in to custody, Lowe said. The name of the shooter was not released and the police have not discovered the motive behind the shooting. “We won’t know a motive until our investigators interview the suspect tonight,” Lowe said on Monday.

According to the Orange Coast Urology website, Dr. Gilbert was a practicing physician with 22 years of experience. He joined the Orange Coast Urology Group in 1993. Gilbert specialized in general urology, sexual dysfunction, and related surgical techniques. He began working as a medical doctor in 1987. The site also states that Dr. Gilbert was a “people person” and that he enjoys helping people.

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