A man who blamed his surgeon for continuing the pain after a recent back operation on Wednesday bought an AR-style rifle and carried out a shooting that same day at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, medical office, killing the doctor and three other people in an attack that ended. with him committing suicide, police said Thursday. Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said the gunman repeatedly called the clinic complaining of the pain and specifically targeted the doctor who performed the surgery.
That doctor, Dr. Preston Phillips, was murdered, along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn, and patient William Love, Franklin said. The attack took place on the Saint Francis Health System campus in Tulsa. The boss identified the shooter as Michael Louis, 45, of Muskogee, Oklahoma.
A letter found about the gunman “made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr. Phillips and anyone who gets in his way,” Franklin told reporters. “He blamed Dr. Phillips for continued pain after surgery.”
It was the latest in a series of mass shootings in the United States, including the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and an attack on a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Over the weekend in Taft, Oklahoma, a woman was killed in a mass shooting during a Memorial Day event that also left seven people injured, police said.
Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin speaks to reporters on June 2, 2022, the day after a deadly mass shooting at a Tulsa medical office. CBS News
Phillips was an orthopedic surgeon interested in spine surgery and joint reconstruction, according to a profile on the clinic’s website. He once served as chief physician for the Tulsa WNBA team before the franchise moved out of state, according to Tulsa World.
Dr. Cliff Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, called Phillips a “consummate gentleman” and “a man we should all strive to imitate.” He said the three employees who were killed were “the three best people in the world” and that “they didn’t deserve to die that way.”
Police believe the gunman bought his weapons legally, Franklin said. The gunman bought an AR-style semi-automatic rifle on the afternoon of the shooting and a pistol on Sunday, the police chief said.
Franklin praised law enforcement, 911 operators and emergency officers for their “immediate response” to the attack. Police responded to the call about three minutes after dispatchers received the report at 4:52 p.m., and contacted the gunman at 5:01 p.m., authorities said Wednesday.
“Our training led us to take immediate action and without hesitation,” he said. “That’s exactly what the agents are doing and that’s what they did in this case.”
The time it took for Uvalde police officers to confront the gunman during last week’s deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary School has become a key focus of this. research. Officers waited more than an hour to enter the classroom where the 18-year-old gunman attacked with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle, killing 19 children and two teachers.
The recent rise in armed violence across the country has prompted Democratic leaders to step up their calls for more gun restrictions, while Republicans are emphasizing more security in schools. Bipartisan discussions are also taking place.
The White House said President Biden will give a keynote address on Thursday night to discuss armed violence.