The gunman who barricaded himself inside the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and shot at police was depressed about his terminal cancer diagnosis, his wife told the Daily News on Friday.
Joseph Gill, 65, fired four shots at NYPD cops during the Thursday night standoff at the Upper East Side center but no one was hurt, cops said.
Police contacted Gill’s son, who calmed his father down and helped cops take him into custody just before midnight.
Gill, who has no prior arrests, was charged with attempted murder of a police officer and gun possession. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation prior to his arraignment.
Gill’s wife defended him as “a very good man” who found success as a freelance set designer before he was diagnosed with cancer about two years ago.
Roughly two months ago, doctors told Gill they could no longer stop his cancer from spreading. His mental health started to deteriorate and his physical pain worsened, his wife said.
“He is vulnerable,” she said at their Harlem apartment, declining to share her name as police waited nearby for a warrant allowing them to search the home.
“He is going to die. He is a wonderful person. He is not a bad guy, he is just depressed,” she said.
Gill showed up to the E. 68th St. cancer center around 9:30 p.m. complaining of pain and demanding more medication. He was taken to the emergency room.
When a staffer later popped in to check on his vital signs, Gill was holding a black gun to his own head, police said.
“Don’t do it! Don’t come in here!” he yelled, according to cops. The staffer backed out and called 911, closing the door behind her.
When two NYPD officers reopened the door, Gill fired a single shot and hit the wall behind them, narrowly missing the officers and nearby patients and doctors, said cops.
The officers retreated and held Gill in the room until Emergency Service Unit cops arrived.
By then, Gill had moved into the bathroom and fired another shot through the door as ESU cops moved in. The gunman fired two more shots but no one was hit, said cops.
Hostage negotiators showed up a short while later and Gill was taken into custody around 11:50 p.m.
“Everybody gets very disappointed if you can’t get treated anymore,” Gill’s wife said. “He tried to be calm. There wasn’t any more treatment to stop the cancer cells. He wanted relief from his pain. The medication wasn’t helping him.”
The man’s close friend, Carleen Spencer, 83, said she was certain Gill did not want to hurt anybody else.
“He is the sweetest man in the world,” she said. “(This is) totally out of character.”
