ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — New details have emerged as NEWS10 continues to follow the investigation that sent Albany Medical Center into a lockdown this week. We have been informed that the suspect’s 97-year-old mother has died.
Based on what we know about the investigation, police say Dino Savoca barricaded himself inside his mother’s room on Monday, because she was scheduled to be transported to another facility for continuing care.
Police tell us his mother died Tuesday but did not have a cause of death. We have also reached out to Albany Med for any information on her passing.
Savoca has been charged with bringing a BB gun and shotgun into the hospital. He was also charged with kidnapping, for barricading his mother inside and not letting police or medical personnel into the room for several hours.
Savoca is currently being held in Albany County Jail and is being represented by the Albany County public defender’s office. His attorney tells NEWS10 they are still in the early stages of gathering information in this case.
Meanwhile, Albany Med tells us they continue to debrief on the incident and their current focus is on supporting staff and patients. As we mentioned, the hospital activated its code silver protocol, designed for a potentially armed assailant, and does regular drills for its emergency management program.
Albany Med has security guards but no metal detectors at the entrances. We reached out to other area hospitals to get a sense of their security measures.
Saint Peter’s Health Partners says they follow a number of best practices working with local law enforcement and other health care providers. Some of the safety measures there include:
- regular active shooter and de-escalation training
- regional drills in emergency departments
- including mock active shooter drills and threat assessment training
We also heard from Ellis Medicine who tells us they remain on heightened alert, increasing rounds and monitoring in their facility. While they did not get into specific measures citing security precautions – they tell us they also conduct regular drills with the Ellis Safety & Security Team. They say they’ve been in regular communications with staff to refresh their knowledge of safety protocols, how to indicate suspicious activity, and how to report it.
