Albany Med

BB Gun and Shotgun in C-3 East: How Albany Med's Code Silver Locked Down a Medical School and a Hospital for Five Hours

Monday, March 27, 2023NYarmed personemergency notificationmedium confidence

Confirmed Threat

On March 27, 2023, 61-year-old Dino Savoca arrived at Albany Medical Center carrying a BB gun and a shotgun while visiting his 97-year-old mother, who was being prepared for transfer to a rehabilitation facility, and barricaded himself in her room. The hospital and the adjoining Albany Medical College issued a Code Silver, the internal designation for an armed assailant in the building, prompting a campus-wide lockdown that stretched until just after 7:30 p.m. when Savoca surrendered without injuries.

Alerts: 3
Response: 5 min
Killed: 0
Injured: 0

Institution

Albany Medical College

Private R2 · NY

~834 studentsInternal overhead announcement + robocallAMC Emergency Notification (Code Silver)

Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPA SystemMar 27, 2023, 6:45 PM EDT

Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from CBS6 Albany and News10 coverage describing standard hospital Code Silver overhead-page format68 chars

Code Silver, C-3 East. Code Silver, C-3 East. Code Silver, C-3 East.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed in the standard three-repeat overhead-page format used in U.S. hospital emergency codes; Albany Med's VP of Communications Matt Markham confirmed 'overhead announcements and robo calls made to all staff' between 2:30 and 3:00 PM EDT on March 27, 2023

C-3 East was identified by Albany Med officials as the location where Savoca threatened staff visiting his 97-year-old mother

Code Silver is the hospital industry's standard color code for an armed assailant; it triggered both clinical-unit and academic-building lockdowns because Albany Medical College shares the campus block with the hospital

UPDATEEmailMar 27, 2023, 7:30 PM EDT+45 min

Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from Spectrum Local News interview with an Albany Med nurse on the lockdown177 chars

ALBANY MED CODE SILVER: An armed individual is barricaded on C-3 East. Shelter in place. Lock doors. Do not approach the area. Albany Police are responding. Updates will follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from a Spectrum News interview in which an Albany Med nurse described being told the Code Silver was 'not a drill' and to lock unit doors

Maria College, located one block from Albany Med, [closed its campus at 4 PM EDT](https://mariacollege.edu/news/campus-closing-at-4pm-today-march-27-due-to-active-shooter-at-albany-medical-center) on March 27, 2023, citing the 'active shooter' situation at Albany Medical Center

Patient care continued during the lockdown; Albany Med spokespeople emphasized that clinical operations were not suspended

ALL CLEARPA SystemMar 27, 2023, 11:37 PM EDT+4h 52m

Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from CBS6 Albany lockdown-lift reporting; standard hospital all-clear format71 chars

Code Silver, all clear. Code Silver, all clear. Code Silver, all clear.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed in the standard three-repeat hospital all-clear format; CBS6 reported the lockdown was lifted at 7:37 PM EDT on March 27, 2023, approximately 22 minutes after Savoca was taken into custody at 7:15 PM EDT

Savoca's weapons were confirmed to be a BB gun and a shotgun; he had pointed the BB gun at staff who arrived to transport his mother

Albany Med announced a [review of its Code Silver response](https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/albany-med-to-review-response-to-code-silver-incident) the following day

Context

Background

On March 27, 2023, Albany Medical Center activated a Code Silver after 61-year-old Dino Savoca of Colonie, NY brandished a BB gun and shotgun in C-3 East, where his 97-year-old mother was being prepared for transfer to a rehabilitation facility. Savoca barricaded himself in his mother's hospital room for nearly five hours while Albany Police, hospital security, and the Albany Med community sheltered in place. The hospital is the primary clinical training site for Albany Medical College, whose 834 medical students share the campus block; the Code Silver therefore locked down both the 766-bed Level I Trauma Center and the medical school's classrooms and library. Hospital VP Matt Markham confirmed to local media that 'overhead announcements and robo calls' were issued to all staff between 2:30 and 3:00 PM EDT, but did not push the Code Silver to public-facing channels. Maria College, one block away, closed its campus at 4 PM EDT, describing the situation as an 'active shooter' incident at Albany Medical Center even though no shots were fired. Savoca surrendered without injury at approximately 7:15 PM EDT, and the lockdown lifted at 7:37 PM EDT. Albany Med subsequently announced a formal review of its Code Silver response.

Analysis

Key Findings

The Code Silver was communicated to staff via overhead PA and robocalls rather than to the public via SMS, reflecting the hospital industry's preference for internal color codes over Clery-style emergency notifications

The 4-hour-45-minute lockdown was one of the longest hospital Code Silver events in the Capital Region in recent memory, despite no shots being fired and only one armed person involved

Adjacent institutions like Maria College closed of their own accord based on local media reports, illustrating how a hospital Code Silver can cascade to neighboring academic institutions without formal multi-institution coordination

Outcome

Savoca was taken into custody at approximately 7:15 PM EDT and the Code Silver was lifted at 7:37 PM EDT. No shots were fired and no one was injured. Albany Med subsequently announced it would review its Code Silver response, and the suspect was arraigned in Albany criminal court the following morning.

Provenance

Sources

News
Albany Medical Center placed on lockdown after weapon report (Daily Gazette)
dailygazette.com
News
Albany Med suspect in custody after barricading himself in room with 97-year-old mom (WNYT NewsChannel 13)
wnyt.com
News
Albany Medical Center nurse on Monday's lockdown (Spectrum Local News)
spectrumlocalnews.com
News
Albany Med to review response to Code Silver incident (CBS6 Albany)
cbs6albany.com
News
Albany Med lifts lockdown after armed assailant taken into custody (CBS6 Albany)
cbs6albany.com
Official
Maria College closes campus at 4pm due to emergency at Albany Medical Center
mariacollege.edu
Source
Albany Medical Center (Wikipedia)
en.wikipedia.org
Official
Albany Medical College Facilities and Affiliations
amc.edu

Alert Sequence

Background

Key Findings

Sources

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