Police released new details Thursday about what led a gunman to kill four people in a shooting at a medical center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the latest in a wave of deadly gun violence occurring across the United States.
Tulsa Police Department Chief Wendell Franklin identified the four people killed as Dr. Preston Phillips; Dr. Stephanie Husen; a receptionist, Amanda Glenn; and William Love, who was with a patient. Franklin said the gunman, identified as Michael Louis, recently had surgery and targeted Phillips, who performed the surgery.
“We also have a letter on the suspect, which made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr. Phillips and anyone who got in his way,” Franklin said. “He blamed Dr. Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery.”
Franklin said the gunman, who died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, used two recently purchased firearms, including an AR-15 style rifle, in the Wednesday afternoon shooting at the St. Francis Health System campus.
Wednesday’s attack comes after high-profile shooting massacres in Buffalo, New York, where 10 Black people were killed, and Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed in May.
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Here’s what we know about the deadly shooting in Tulsa:
VIOLENT IDENTITY:Why do mass shootings keep happening? Because this is what we’ve allowed America to become, USA TODAY Editorial member writes.
Where did the attack take place?
Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish said officers discovered the shooter and several victims on the second floor of the St. Francis Health System’s Natalie Building, about eight miles southeast of downtown Tulsa.
The Natalie Building houses an outpatient surgery center and a breast health center. Dalgleish said an orthopedic clinic also is located on the second floor.
The entire hospital locked down its campus Wednesday during the shooting.
Police clear home in Muskogee, Oklahoma, after possible bomb threat
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol bomb squad used dogs to clear a home in Muskogee after police were notified the hospital shooter may have left a bomb inside, the Muskogee Police public information officer said.
“No devices were found,” Lynn Hamlin said.
Tulsa police investigators arrived after that search “and took over the scene,” she said. Muskogee is about 50 miles southeast of Tulsa.
‘It’s surreal and aggravating’: Community reacts to the shooting
Community members waited to hear from their loved ones at the designated reunification area after the shooting Wednesday night.
Kevin Foristal, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, said his wife was receiving outpatient therapy at the infusion center in the main hospital building at the time of the shooting.
He was “elated” to hear she was safe, but added: “There’s people out there where that’s not going to happen.”
Johnnie Munn arrived at the reunification site Wednesday night to help provide food, water and emotional support. The Tulsa-area native specializes in mass shooting response for the Red Cross as a senior disaster program manager.
He’s attended to victims at the site of the deadliest U.S. mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, where 60 people were killed. This time, he responded to a fatal attack in his hometown.
“It’s surreal and aggravating,” Munn said. “You’re like, ‘Why?’ … It’s no surprise that it’s happening more often.”
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Oklahoma State Medical Association President Dr. David Holden said in a statement the organization was heartbroken to learn of the loss of lives at the Tulsa hospital.
“Oklahoma’s hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices are places for healing and should be safe for all,” Holden said. “And while there will be much to discuss regarding this tragedy in the days and weeks to come, we stand with our fellow physicians and health professionals in mourning those who were killed and injured due to this devastating event.”
Mass shootings in the US this year
The United States has seen a number of high-profile shootings in recent weeks, including two massacres in
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Nolan Clay and Dana Branham, The Oklahoman; The Associated Press