BRONX, New York (WABC) -- A Bronx man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for opening fire, striking a man in the emergency waiting room of Jacobi Medical Center in 2022 and sending patients and hospital staff running for their lives.
Keber Martinez, 25, formerly of 1241 Beach Avenue was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison and five years post-release supervision on one count of first-degree assault by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick. He pleaded guilty to that charge on August 28, 2024.
"The defendant opened fire inside Jacobi's emergency room, wounding one man and showing complete disregard for the patients and staff, with one bullet lodging in a wall close to a woman holding a baby," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. "The defendant's violent actions have now been answered with a substantial prison sentence."
According to the investigation, on January 25, 2022, the defendant was inside the hospital emergency room and shot at the 35-year-old victim four times, striking him once in the left arm causing him to bleed profusely. Martinez fled the hospital after the shooting and was arrested in Harlem. The attack was captured on hospital surveillance video.
Martinez was arrested after he apparently wrote his name in the sign-in book when he arrived at the hospital.
Authorities say Martinez spotted his 35-year-old victim inside the waiting area outside the hospital's emergency room.
The two, who are believed to know each other, then got into a verbal dispute.
Martinez fired four shots, striking the other man once in the arm and sending everyone in the waiting area scrambling for safety.
The victim was rushed into the emergency room, while the gunman fled the scene.
In surveillance video obtained by Eyewitness News, the gunman is seen opening fire.
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