A contract nurse at a New Jersey hospital set another staffer on fire in a break room Monday morning, the hospital said, and cops are still hunting for the suspect.
Hackensack Meridian Health said in a statement that a “contracted agency nurse” entered the room at Hackensack University Medical Center and “allegedly set the team member on fire.”
Sources familiar with the investigation told News 4 New York that the weapon appeared to possibly be a culinary torch.
The hospital said there were no witnesses and police did not yet have a motive. Prosecutors issued a statement confirming they were investigating the 5:15 a.m. attack but offering little detail beyond that.
The nurse, who cleared a background check and has been working at the facility since November, fled the hospital and drove off in his car.
The burned female staffer, who the sources said was a patient care technician, was transferred to another hospital for treatment. Sources indicated she was in critical but stable condition with severe burns to her face and upper body. Prosecutors described her injuries as third-degree burns.