Campus Alert Archive
JHU

A Son's Grief Turns to Gunfire on Nelson 8: Johns Hopkins Hospital Locked Down

MDshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On September 16, 2010, Paul Warren Pardus, 50, shot orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Cohen on the eighth floor of the Nelson Building at Johns Hopkins Hospital after becoming distraught during a briefing on his mother's condition. Pardus then barricaded himself in his mother's room, fatally shot her, and killed himself. The entire East Baltimore campus went on lockdown with police, FBI, and SWAT teams responding. Hopkins sent emergency text and email alerts within minutes.

Alerts
3
Response
5 min
Killed
1
Injured
1
Institution
Johns Hopkins University
Private R1 · MD
~30,200 studentsJohns Hopkins Emergency Alerts (Rave)
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimJohns Hopkins Gazette and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing magazine — both reported this exact phrase as the verbatim text of the 11:15 a.m. EDT emergency e-mail and text advisory sent to staff19 chars
shooter on Nelson 8
Verbatim phrase quoted in the Johns Hopkins Gazette and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing's 'One September Day' retrospective — described as the literal text of the 11:15 a.m. e-mail and text advisory
The extreme brevity reflects hospital-staff familiarity with building names and floor designations: 'Nelson 8' uniquely identifies the eighth floor of the Nelson Building
A longer follow-up email with shelter-in-place instructions went out separately
UPDATEEmail+15 min
Approximate reconstruction295 chars
A shooting has occurred in the Nelson Building at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A gunman is believed to be barricaded on the 8th floor. All employees should remain in their offices or rooms with doors locked and stay away from windows. Baltimore City Police and SWAT are on scene. Updates will follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Campus-wide email sent approximately 30 minutes after the shooting
By this time, police and SWAT teams had flooded the East Baltimore campus and surrounding streets were being secured
The email provided more detail than the initial text, specifying the gunman was believed barricaded
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction261 chars
The situation at Johns Hopkins Hospital has been resolved. The gunman is deceased. There is no continuing threat. The lockdown is being lifted. Normal operations will resume. Additional counseling resources are available through the Employee Assistance Program.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Pardus had killed his mother, Jean Davis, and then himself inside her hospital room
Dr. Cohen was in surgery for his gunshot wound by the time the all-clear was issued
The lockdown affected not just the hospital but the broader Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus including the schools of medicine, nursing, and public health
Context

Background

The Johns Hopkins Hospital shooting of September 16, 2010, presented a unique challenge for emergency notification: the incident occurred inside a working hospital where thousands of patients, visitors, and staff were present alongside the university community. Paul Warren Pardus had brought a semiautomatic handgun concealed in his waistband to a scheduled meeting with Dr. David Cohen, who was briefing Pardus on his mother's spinal surgery and prognosis. When Pardus learned his mother might be paralyzed, he became distraught and shot Dr. Cohen in the abdomen. Pardus then barricaded himself in his mother's room on the eighth floor of the Nelson Building. Baltimore City Police, FBI, and SWAT teams locked down the entire East Baltimore campus, evacuating some buildings and ordering shelter-in-place in others. The dual challenge of hospital operations (patients on ventilators, ongoing surgeries, emergency department flow) and campus security created a scenario that few emergency plans had fully contemplated. Hopkins sent its first electronic alert at approximately 11:15 a.m. directing staff to lock doors and avoid windows. The incident prompted Hopkins and other academic medical centers to re-evaluate how emergency lockdown procedures interact with patient care continuity.
Analysis

Key Findings

The shooting occurred inside a working hospital, creating tension between lockdown protocols and patient care continuity
Hopkins deployed a multi-channel alert (text and email) within minutes, directing employees to shelter in their offices
The incident demonstrated that academic medical centers face unique lockdown challenges not addressed by standard campus emergency plans
Dr. Cohen survived and returned to practice; the incident prompted security reviews at academic hospitals nationwide
Outcome
Paul Pardus killed his mother and himself. Dr. David Cohen survived the gunshot wound to the abdomen and recovered. No other injuries occurred. The lockdown lasted several hours as SWAT cleared the building floor by floor.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    One September Day - Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
    nursing.jhu.edu
  2. News
    An awful day at Johns Hopkins: a doctor shot and a murder-suicide - Baltimore Brew
    baltimorebrew.com
  3. News
    Man kills mother, self at Baltimore hospital after wounding doctor - CNN
    cnn.com
  4. Official
    Gunman shoots physician at JHH, then mother, self - Johns Hopkins Gazette
    gazette.jhu.edu
  5. News
    Johns Hopkins Hospital Shooting: Doctor Wounded, Gunman Barricaded - CBS News
    cbsnews.com
Tags
shootinghospitalacademic-medical-centermurder-suicidebarricadeswat-responsepatient-care-continuity2010
Added April 2026Updated April 2026Via ingestion