A woman has been seriously injured following an assault at an orthopaedic hospital in Kilkenny.
The incident on Kilcreene Hospital Campus is understood to have taken place shortly before 8:50am in the outpatients section of the facility in Kilkenny city.
The campus is also the headquarters for the National Ambulance Service for the county and also a number of HSE administrative buildings.
Between the hospital, NAS and administrative buildings scores of people work on the campus.
Gardaí are keeping guard outside the outpatients section of the hospital and no-one is being allowed in or out. All employees on the campus have been informed to stay indoors.
One employee said: “We know very little about what is happening. When I arrived at work around 8am there were no gardai here but they arrived around 8:50am. Everyone in here is saying there is a gun involved.”
Garda investigations are ongoing. A garda search helicopter has been deployed to search for the male culprit.
A spokesperson for the Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG) added: “The Ireland East Hospital Group are working with An Garda Síochána following an incident that took place in Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital this morning.
“Staff and management are fully cooperating with the Gardai and their investigation.”
