Nicholas Pagano.
A nurse wanted for setting a colleague on fire has killed himself, according to authorities out of Bergen County, New Jersey. Nicholas Pagano, 31, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, prosecutors said.
Authorities were seeking him because he allegedly inflicted serious burns to a 54-year-old staffer at Hackensack University Medical Center and beat her with a wrench. Local cops got a call about this attack at approximately 5:15 a.m. on Monday. They said it happened in the break room and the suspect, Pagano, fled.
“The victim suffered third-degree burns over her upper body, face and hands, as well as a laceration to her head that required stitches,” officials said.
Pagano had set her on fire, according to authorities in a CBS New York report.
He had reportedly been working at HUMC as a traveling nurse, contracted there since November. The hospital reportedly said he cleared an adult, including state and county background checks.
The search for Pagano came to a violent and abrupt end all the way down in Waterford Township of Camden County.
“At approximately 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, law enforcement learned that PAGANO was found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Waterford Township, NJ,” prosecutors said.
Authorities have not revealed the alleged motive behind the original attack.
[Image via Bergan County Prosecutor’s Office]