A gunman opened fire on a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing three people, according to police, in the latest in a series of mass shootings in the United States.
Key points:
- Police say the alleged gunman is among the four dead
- The number of injured has not yet been reported
- One person died after trying to get medical attention
Tulsa police said in a Facebook post shortly before 6 a.m. Wednesday (local time) that the shooter had also died. It was unclear how the shooter died.
“Officers are currently searching all rooms in the building, checking for additional threats,” police said.
“We know there are multiple injuries and potentially multiple casualties.”
Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg said it was a “catastrophic scene.”
He told ABC that “four people [were] shot and killed. One died after leaving the scene to try to get medical attention, and one of those four will be our suspect. “
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Captain Meulenberg said police received a call about a man with a rifle on the second floor of a medical campus building and that “it became an active shooter situation.”
He said that when officers arrived at the scene, “they found that some people had been shot, a couple was dead at the time.”
“We also found out who we thought was the sniper, and we still believe he was the sniper, because he was carrying a long rifle and a pistol with him,” Captain Meulenberg added.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting and that “he was following the situation closely and has contacted state and local officials to provide support.”
The Tulsa shooting follows two mass shootings in May that shocked Americans and sparked gun control debates.
Last week, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. In early May, a gunman killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
The last weekend of Memorial Day saw several mass shootings across the country, with incidents of a single death accounting for the majority of these casualties by gunfire.
Several emergency services agencies rushed to the scene. (Facebook: Tulsa Police Department)
Hospital campus closed
St Francis Health System closed its campus due to the situation in the Natalie Medical Building.
The Natalie Building houses an outpatient surgery center and a breast health center.
Aerial footage of a television helicopter appeared to show the first perpetrators driving someone on a stretcher away from the hospital building.
Dozens of police cars could be seen outside the hospital complex and authorities closed traffic as the investigation progressed.
A reunion center was set up at a nearby high school so that families could find their loved ones.
Officers from the Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also at the scene, a spokesman said.
AP / Reuters
Posted 55 minutes ago 55 minutes ago Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 11:38 PM, updated 10 minutes ago 10 minutes ago Thursday, June 2, 2022 at 12:23 AM