A heart surgeon was shot and killed this week inside Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston by a visitor who specifically requested to see the doctor, shot him twice, and then killed himself.

Police and hospital officials commended the fast response by police and hospital staff, who they said had been trained to respond to an “active shooter” situation. We don’t know what the staff did to respond, or how it may have helped anyone. Police were reportedly on the scene within seconds after getting the first calls of shots fired and had the area secured within 15 minutes.

Police were on the scene within seconds. But that wasn’t fast enough. The shooter was dead and the victim, who was already in a hospital, was dying. Do you depend on 911?

We don’t know if the hospital is a gun free zone by law, but it does have a no-weapons policy for staff and does not have metal detectors. Well, it seems that rule ensured that neither the late doctor nor any other staff could effectively prevent his murder, or the next one.

Does it ever seem silly to you to see a “no guns” sign on a GLASS door?