Story highlights Sheriff: Shooting appears to be "extremely random"

Police chief: Staff's response saved more lives

(CNN) A man entered a patient's room at a medical center in Florida early Sunday and opened fire, killing two people, authorities said.

The victims were an elderly female patient and a female hospital employee, who were sitting in the room, Titusville police Chief John Lau said.

Moments after the shots rang out, two security guards came into the room at Parrish Medical Center and took the suspect down, the police chief said.

The guards were not armed. They held the suspect down until police arrived and took him into custody.

Lau praised the guards for their quick action. "I cannot stress enough, the response of the Parrish Medical Center staff, without a doubt, saved more lives," he said.

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It's unclear what led the suspect to open fire at the Titusville hospital. Authorities were tight-lipped when pressed for details. They said they were unsure of a possible motive and that there was no apparent connection between the suspect and the victims. "It appears to be extremely random. There may be something later in the day that connects the dots for us, but right now nothing has done that," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said. CNN Map

Parrish Medical Center spokeswoman Natalie Sellers also praised the hospital staff members for how they handled the attack. "I want to commend our staff and the immediate and fast response they implemented," she said.

She added, "We're mourning the loss of one our care partners, and we're certainly mourning the loss of one of our patients."

The hospital is about 40 miles east of Orlando.