Tulsa shooting: Gunman killed surgeon he blamed for pain, says police
Jun 03, 2022
Oklahoma [US], June 3 : A gunman who killed his surgeon and three other people at a Tulsa medical office blamed the dead doctor for his continuing pain after a recent back operation.
The patient called the clinic repeatedly complaining of the pain and after which, he entered the hospital with the AR-style rifle on Wednesday and killed the doctor, Dr Preston Phillips, who performed the surgery on him, Tulsa police Chief Wendell Franklin said as quoted by CBS News.
Along with Dr Phillips, Dr Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and patient William Love were also killed, Tulsa police Chief said.
The attack took place at the Natalie Building on the St. Francis Hospital Campus in Tulsa. The police chief identified the shooter as Michael Louis, 45, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, reported CBS News.
A letter found on the gunman "made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr Phillips and anyone who got in his way," Franklin told reporters.
Franklin further said, "He blamed Dr Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery."
The Police chief said that the gunman bought an AR-style semi-automatic rifle on the afternoon of the shooting and a handgun on Sunday.
The shootout incidents in the US have been increasing.
Earlier, On Tuesday (local time), an elderly woman was killed and two other persons were injured after gunfire erupted at a high school graduation ceremony in New Orleans.
Prior to that, a mass shooting incident took place last week at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas in which several people including 19 children were killed.
Notably, US President Joe Biden sought advice from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over tackling violence in the United States as shooting incidents in America have been increasing in recent days.
Biden referred to the 2019 Christchurch slaying of 51 people in mass shootings targeting Muslims. The incident prompted New Zealand to ban military-style rifles. A gun buy-back was also instituted.
"We need your guidance," Biden said during the meeting with Arden in the Oval Office. "Your leadership has taken on a critical role in this global stage -- and it really has -- galvanizing action on climate change, the global effort to curb violence, extremism, and online, like happened in Christchurch," he added.
