By Bob Salsberg
The Associated Press
BOSTON — A man stabbed a doctor while being treated at a psychiatric office at a Boston medical building Tuesday and was fatally shot by an off-duty security guard who saw the attack, police said.
The attack took place in the afternoon at a high-rise affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital.
The female doctor, identified by hospital officials as Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, was in serious, but stable condition. Police said the suspect died of the gunshot wounds. He was identified as Jay Carciero, 37, of Reading.
“During the course of the stabbing incident an off-duty security officer who was armed interceded. He produced a weapon and ordered the suspect to drop the knife. And when the suspect did not comply, he shot the suspect,” said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.
The security guard was not affiliated with the hospital and just happened to be on the fifth-floor of the building where the attack occurred, according to Bonnie Michelman, the hospital’s security director.
“Certainly heroic, we are happy he was here,” said Michelman.
The victim also works as an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and is affiliated with the Haitian Mental Health Program. Public records show the 49-year-old Desrosiers was licensed to practice in the Massachusetts 16 years ago.
Desrosiers is a graduate of the State University of Haiti’s School of Medicine and Pharmacy and the Harvard University School of Public Health. Her major research interests include the role of psychosocial factors in the treatment of mood disorders, health disparities and the impact of multicultural issues on patient care.
“A caring and dedicated professional, Dr. Desrosiers has spent her career providing extraordinary care and treatment to patients who are among the most vulnerable and those with the most severe psychiatric disorders,” Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement. “Her commitment, compassion and courage are an inspiration to all of us. The entire MGH family is pulling together for her speedy recovery.”
Carciero’s sister-in-law, Lisa Carciero, said the family was devastated by the news and would not make public comments. Carciero and his brother, John, did not have home phones listed.
Police temporarily locked down the Staniford Street building, telling employees and patients they could not leave. Nearby streets were shut down for about an hour. They were let back in when authorities determined the danger had passed.
David Schoenfeld, a biostatistician who works in another suite of offices on the fifth floor, where the attack took place, said he heard a commotion and found the suspect lying on the floor.
“Two nurses rushed in and administered as much first aid as they could until the ambulances arrived a couple of minutes later,” Schoenfeld said.
Schoenfeld said he did not see the doctor who had been stabbed.
The attack took place at the Massachusetts General Hospital Bipolar Clinic & Research Program, in a building near the main hospital. The program provides clinical care, conducts research and educates the community about bipolar disorder, according to its Web site.
The building is in a largely commercial area that includes businesses with treatment specialties and several medical groups associated with Massachusetts General.
“There wasn’t too much panic or confusion in the building,” said Arthur Frigault of Waltham, who was with his wife for an ophthalmology appointment on the sixth floor.
Frigault, who did not hear the shots, went to the lobby but was not allowed to leave as police entered the building. He later saw a man and a woman taken, on stretchers, from the building. He said the woman was “all bloodied up.”
David Wert, who lives near the medical building, was home with his infant daughter when he saw the commotion outside and became worried about his wife, Alicia, who works on the second floor.
“We came out to see if Mommy was OK,” said Wert, who was carrying his child. Police did not allow him in the building, but his wife called him about five minutes later to say she was all right.
“It was pretty nerve racking,” Wert said.