Police: Suspect in Bush’s doctor’s death killed himself

HOUSTON — A man accused of killing one of former President George H.W. Bush’s doctors fatally shot himself during a confrontation with authorities in Houston on Friday morning, the city’s police chief said.

Joseph James Pappas, 62, was accused of shooting Dr. Mark Hausknecht on July 20, while the cardiologist rode his bike to work at Houston Methodist Hospital. Authorities said Pappas might have been seeking revenge for his mother, who died on the doctor’s operating table more than 20 years ago, in April 1997.

Authorities Wednesday announced Pappas as a suspect in the death and should be considered armed, dangerous and possibly suicidal. Police found him Friday after a city worker reported seeing him.

Pappas died from a single self-inflicted shot to the head, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters a short time after Pappas’ death, with his body still at the scene. Pappas was wearing a bulletproof vest during the confrontation and shot himself after a second police unit arrived, Acevedo said.

Pappas had worked in law enforcement for more than 30 years and was also a licensed real estate agent, state records show. Friday’s confrontation occurred about 3 1/2 miles from his Houston home.

Hausknecht was shot in broad daylight at the Texas Medical Center.

Autopsy results show he was shot three times, including in the head and torso. Police have said the shots Pappas was accused of firing as he also rode on a bike “took some skill.”