ON THE LAM

Travel Nurse Who Allegedly Set Hospital Worker on Fire Found Dead of Gunshot Wound

Nicholas Pagano attacked a hospital technician with a wrench before badly burning her in a break room just after 5 a.m. Monday, officials said.

A New Jersey nurse who fled after allegedly attacking a medical technician with a wrench and setting her on fire has been found dead, according to multiple reports. Nicholas Pagano, 31, is believed to have used a gun stolen from his brother’s home to shoot himself in Winslow Township, law enforcement sources told NBC and CBS’ New York affiliates. His body was found early Tuesday morning. Pagano, a travel nurse who was assigned by an independent staffing agency, had worked at Hackensack University Medical Center on a contractual basis since November. Just after 5 a.m. on Monday, police said, he allegedly entered a hospital break room and attacked the 54-year-old victim with a wrench and what sources told NBC New York was a culinary torch. The victim, a hospital technician, suffered multiple third-degree burns on the upper half of her body. A wound on her head also required stitches, according to a Bergen County official.

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