Report comes in fatal shooting, wounding inside Cox
A nurse heard a loud bang. Then another. He rushed to a Cox South hospital room where he found a woman lying in bed next to her husband, who was pointing a gun at his chest.
"No!" the nurse shouted. But it was too late. Booker Cox shot himself in the chest, just seconds after his wife, Carolyn, had done the same.
Both were rushed to emergency areas — Carolyn survived, but Booker did not.
Police say a note at the scene indicated the couple, together for 50 years, had decided to commit suicide. Police documents, released after the News-Leader's Sunshine request, say no one will be charged.
The documents give the first detailed accounting of the Nov. 30 shooting. Over the last several months, police and hospital officials had offered only sparse information. It was not clear who shot whom or how a gun got into the Springfield facility.
The report says Booker Cox, 69, was in the hospital suffering from acute renal failure, hospital staffers said. The note the couple left said Carolyn, 70, didn't want to live without her husband, the report says.
After the third shot, the nurse left the room to get help, the report says, and a hospital security officer responded.
The officer did a quick sweep of the room and first saw a man in the other bed of the hospital room — he held up his hands and pointed to the other side of the room, where the officer found the couple, still alive, but obviously in pain, according to the report.
Security officers removed the gun from the room and found the note the couple had left, the report says. The gun, an Iver Johnson's Arms and Cylce Works revolver, was described as "rusted and worn."
According to the report, hospital staffers removed the other man from the room and gave medical attention to Booker and Carolyn Cox.
Booker Cox was taken to the intensive care unit, where he eventually died. Carolyn Cox, also in critical condition, was taken to the emergency room, where she was saved, police say. According to the report, both bullets missed her heart.
Besides the note, Carolyn Cox told officers and hospital staff that she shot herself and Booker shot himself, according to the report.
Residue on the hands of both the Coxes first led police to believe each had fired the gun — but a "criminalist" at the Missouri State Crime Lab said testing would not determine if the gunshots were self-inflicted, because the two were so close to each other, residue could have deposited on their hands whether they fired a shot or not, police say.
A medical examiner determined that Booker Cox died from a gunshot wound to the chest, and that the manner of death was suicide, according to the report.
Hospital staff reported several people visiting Booker Cox's room earlier in the day, but all had left except Carolyn Cox by about 8 p.m., the report says. Staff said Carolyn left the room for a short time. Hospital video would show she went to a car, retrieved a suitcase and pillow, and returned.
Police found the suitcase open on the floor when they responded to the scene, the report says.
Police say they found no evidence that led them to file charges.
"With the limited amount of physical evidence in this investigation, the statements made by Carolyn Cox, and the eye-witness account of Booker Cox shooting himself, this incident appears to have been an attempted double-suicide," the report says. "I have insufficient probable cause at this time to pursue criminal charges and this case is cleared at this time."
CoxHealth prohibits the carrying of guns into the hospital; the investigative report does not address that as an issue.
State and federal regulators have said they are investigating the shooting because the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has oversight responsibility for security staffers put in place by the hospital to protect patients and visitors.
Asked for comment after the police documents were released to the News-Leader, Yvette Williams, of CoxHealth Corporate Communications, said:
"We were saddened by this tragic event. The people involved are deeply loved and respected in the Springfield and Branson community, and our hearts go out to the family for their loss. As a hospital we prepare for virtually every contingency when it comes to employee and patient safety.
"An after-action review regarding this incident identified that our employees' and physicians' response was immediate, thorough and appropriate. We are grateful for the professionalism, compassion and respect they demonstrated that night."