A combat veteran used his army skills to gain access to a hospital so decrepit it has even been abandoned by gangs . The 1960s building , which closed in 1993 , was once the celebrated South West Detroit Hospital . But now it is partially submerged in brown icy water with doors riddled with bullet holes and graffiti that reads 'Bang , bang , ' 'you 're next ' and 'do n't open , dead inside ' . A combat veteran used his army skills to gain access to the former South West Detroit Hospital . The building , which was transformed into the United Community Hospital in 1996 , has been empty for nearly ten years and is covered in graffiti inside and outside . Despite 'private property ' and 'no tresspassing ' ( sic ) being written down the side of the building it is clear that people have continued to enter . One bit of graffiti , written in 2014 , even reads : 'Ebola will kill us all . ' The eerie set of photographs were taken by photojournalist and former soldier Robert Johnson . The 40-year-old discovered hundreds of medical records , old newspapers and staff time-cards as he explored the building . After taking the photographs he wrote on Twitter : 'It was one surprise after another in Detroit 's abandoned United Community Hospital # InsideDetroit . ' The bottom levels and lifts of the hospital are filled with brown water , which has frozen solid in some places . While most of the building is empty some of the old equipment has been left to rust . One of the old elevators is covered in more than 30 bullet holes and has the words 'bang bang ' written in red spray paint . White wallpaper is seen peeling off the walls of some of the old hospital bays with 'youre next ' ( sic ) scrawled on the patterned curtains . One ominous warning written in red pen reads : 'Ebola will kill us all . ' It is dated 2014 - eight years after the building was last occupied . An old brown treatment chair is surrounded by broken glass and debris . The photographs are part of a series called Inside Detroit and were captured by ex-soldier Robert Johnson . He wrote on Pixable : 'Driving through Detroit , abandoned commercial buildings of all types rise up from the mass of vacant homes to catch the eye . 'After several days , this modern structure had drawn my attention enough that I stopped to take a closer look . ' The South West Detroit Hospital was originally designed to serve more than 200,000 residents . It was sold to businessman Harley Brown for $ 1.5million in 1996 after declaring bankruptcy five years earlier . He re-opened the building in 1997 as the United Community Hospital but a decade later it was empty again . It is not known what the future plans are for the building . Some of the upper levels have escaped being flooded but are filled with broken furniture covered in graffiti . Rubbish and dust cover the floor . A broom and other bits of old wood float in the brown water , which has slowly risen through the bottom levels of the building . Old bits of machinery have been left in their place and are now submerged . The 40-year-old photographer said : 'This modern structure had drawn my attention enough that I stopped to take a closer look ' It is not known how Mr Johnson managed to get around the old building . The lifts are frozen in place whereas the stairs are rotting . What looks like a blue mattress can be seen at the far end of one of the wards , semi-submerged in the murky water . Further plans for the building are not known .
South West Detroit Hospital was a celebrated community service but it closed in 1993 after declaring bankruptcy . It was later transformed into the United Community Hospital but this shut down nearly a decade ago . Building is now covered in bullet holes , partially submerged and has graffiti scrawled on the doors and walls .