Hospital Staff Attacked Following Altercation Over Visitor Limit in Pediatric ICU

In a distressing incident at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey, a stabbing left two nurses and one medical resident wounded on Friday. The attack unfolded during a domestic dispute involving visitors in the hospital’s pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Hospital authorities reported that the three staff members sustained lacerations and were promptly transported to the onsite emergency department with minor injuries. Thankfully, no patients or family members were harmed during the assault, as per reports by News 12 New Jersey.

The incident transpired at approximately 7 a.m. on Friday when a woman identified as Firdousi A. Abdul-Hakim, 37, allegedly launched an attack on the hospital staff. Officials indicated that Abdul-Hakim became agitated after being informed by employees that there were too many visitors. In response, she reportedly produced a cutting implement and carried out the assault.

Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé disclosed that Abdul-Hakim was taken into custody and now faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon.

An update from the hospital around 4 p.m. on the same day conveyed that all three wounded employees had been released from the emergency department.

Following the incident, the hospital briefly entered divert status, restricting the acceptance of new ambulance arrivals during the emergency. However, this status was later lifted, and normal activities resumed.

Newark police are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the stabbing, seeking to unravel the details of the altercation that led to this shocking act of violence within the healthcare facility.