A man who blamed his surgeon for ongoing pain after a recent back surgery bought an AR-style rifle hours before opening fire at a Tulsa medical office on Wednesday, killing four before fatally shooting himself, police said Thursday.
Three of the four victims were employees of the Saint Francis Health System.
“The three best people in the entire world that are the most committed to doing what they do every day and taking care of others,” said CEO Dr. Cliff Robertson on Thursday.
Here is what we know so far about the victims of the shooting.
Dr. Preston J. Phillips, M.D.
Dr. Preston J. Phillips, an orthopedic surgeon and section chief at the Warren Clinic in Tulsa, was described by police as the intended target of Wednesday’s shooting.
Phillips, 59, graduated from Harvard Medical School in Boston and completed his residency at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut.
On Facebook, a man named Phil Brewer described knowing Phillips during residency:
“We shared a love of jazz and frequently went to a small jazz club in New Haven to listen to live music. Preston introduced me to the music of Marion Meadows, a New Haven native. He was an impressive man, both physically and intellectually. He was selected as a White House fellow before going to medical school. He was one of the very few black orthopedic surgeons in the country.”
WHAT WE KNOW:Police identify victims, gunman in Tulsa medical center shooting
Phillips’ neighbors, Paul and Patti Bernius, remembered him as “the best type of neighbor you would want to live in your neighborhood.”
“He was just the most incredible man,” Paul Bernius said. “In character, in professionalism, in everything he did – just 10s across the board. Think high, and then think higher – that’s my view of him.”
Phillips served on the board of directors for Tulsa’s John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation in the Greenwood District, which works within the community to change the nature of Tulsa’s relationship with its violent past of racial violence surrounding the Tulsa Race Massacre.
He was also a member of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, and frequently volunteered with the Tulsa County Medical Society’s free clinic, Project TCMS, according to an association spokesperson.
“Dr. Phillips was the consummate gentleman. He was – he is a man that we should all strive to emulate,” Robertson said.
“He is one of those doctors that was cut from the cloth of four decades ago in terms of how he felt about people and how he felt about his calling, so not only is it a shock, it is the ultimate loss for Saint Francis and for Tulsa.”
Dr. Stephanie Husen
Dr. Stephanie Husen, a sports and internal medicine specialist with the Warren Clinic in Tulsa, graduated from the Oklahoma State University-Center for Health Services medical school in 2000 and completed her residency at Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina.
An Oklahoma native, Husen’s Facebook page shows she is from Ponca City.
Husen, 48, attended the University of Oklahoma, where she was a Chi Omega sorority member.
The chapter shared a message of grief to its Instagram page after Husen’s death.
“Today we mourn the loss of one of our own members of PC’92. Our hearts are with the family and loved ones who lost such an incredible woman,” the post says. “She was known and loved by so many and will always be remembered. No words could ever take away the pain of those affected, but know that we are here in full support and will continue to pray.”
Amanda Glenn
Amanda Glenn was a receptionist working in a supervisory role for the offices at the medical clinic, according to Robertson.
Glenn had been with the Saint Francis Health System for nearly five years, her LinkedIn page shows. Previously, Glenn was a registered medical assistant.
A wife and the mother of two teenaged sons, Glenn was a fan of University of Oklahoma football and St. Louis Cardinals baseball, according to her Facebook.
In a post to Facebook, her brother, Jim Massengill, asked for love and support for their family, especially Glenn’s husband and children. He wrote his sister was “one of the most kind and caring individuals” and he was “still in complete shock.”
“I haven’t really came up with the words yet,” he wrote. “I honestly have no idea what to say because I’ve been hysterically crying since I found out.”
Glenn’s neighbor, Debbie Thompson, described her as “a great neighbor, and a great wife.”
The Glenns lived across from Thompson and her husband for several years. The couples bonded while attending high school football games together.
When Glenn’s husband, Beau, couldn’t reach his wife Wednesday, he called Thompson’s husband, she said. They were at dinner celebrating their anniversary but came home to be with Beau, she said.
“When Beau found out, all the family was here, and it was just a real tragic scene,” Thompson said.
Glenn leaves behind a son who recently graduated high school and a second who is soon to be a junior at the school.
Thompson described Glenn as an active mother who never missed her sons’ sporting events.
“I just can’t believe it’s real,” she said. “You know, you just can’t believe you really know somebody that this happened to. My heart just goes out to Beau and his boys, I’ve thought about them all day.”
William Love
William Love, 73, was at the Warren clinic with a patient and was killed when he attempted to prevent the gunman from getting to Phillips, according to law enforcement officials.
Love was married to Deborah Love since 1967, and was a retired Army 1st sergeant with 27 years of service, according to information shared on social media by the Tulsa Police Department. He served one tour in Vietnam.
He is survived by his brother, daughters and their spouses, along with eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren, the police department said.
Police said Love held the door closed to allow another person to escape through another exit, in effect sacrificing his life for his wife, who was with him at the hospital.
