UPDATED 8.31am: Police say a gunman is dead after a shooting inside New York City's Bronx Lebanon hospital in which several people have been reported wounded, including at least three doctors.

The New York Times, citing information furnished by an unnamed city Fire Department official, said three physicians had been shot, though their conditions were unknown.

As least one of the wounded doctors was being treated by people inside the hospital who fashioned a tourniquet from an emergency fire hose, according to the official.

As many as five or six people may have been wounded, The Times said, citing a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Police had yet to secure the area, preventing emergency medical workers from entering.
CBS News reported that the gunman, believed to be a former hospital employee, had a rifle and had barricaded himself inside the building.

New York Police Department spokesman Peter Donald posted a message a short time later on Twitter, saying, "One shooter is deceased at the hospital." It was not immediately clear whether police were looking for any other suspects.

On Twitter, the New York Police Department told members of the public to avoid the area around the hospital.