The doctor who treated a number of the casualties in last week’s horrific Florida school shooting studied medicine in Dublin and has an Irish wife, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
The doctor who treated a number of the casualties in last week’s horrific Florida school shooting studied medicine in Dublin and has an Irish wife, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
Dr Evan Boyar – who is the medical director for emergency services at Broward Health North on Pompano Beach – led the medical team who treated eight of the victims following the shooting that killed 17 students and teachers last Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The school is located close to the hospital where Dr Boyar works.
Among those treated for injuries at the hospital was 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who has been charged with the murder of the 17 victims.
Dr Boyar studied at UCD for his medical degree. His wife, Paula, is understood to be originally from Tipperary and the couple are still regular visitors to Ireland. Paula also works as a doctor at Broward Health North. The couple both graduated from UCD in 2002.
Dr Boyar spoke to the media outside the hospital on the evening of the shooting, giving updates on the number of victims being treated. However, he would not go into the types of injuries sustained by survivors out of respect for their families.
He said he and the medical staff at the hospital are well-trained and prepared for such devastating situations.
“At Broward Health North, we received eight patients and one suspect.
“The suspect was treated and released in police custody,” he said.
“We routinely run drills at our institution to be ready for instances like this, so we have a process in place that gets initiated, so there’s calm, collected care that our patients receive,” he added.
Dr Boyar was also asked by reporters how the hospital’s medical staff dealt with having to treat the suspect.
“Every patient that comes in here gets treated as a patient and we take care of them medically and that’s what we do,” he said.
