COPS: TULSA GUNMAN TARGETED SURGEON HE BLAMED FOR PAIN
A gunman who killed his surgeon and three other people at a Tulsa medical office blamed the doctor for his continuing pain after a recent back operation and bought an AR-style rifle just hours before the rampage, police said Thursday.
The patient called the clinic repeatedly complaining of pain and targeted the doctor who performed the surgery, then killed himself as police arrived, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said.
That physician, Dr. Preston Phillips, was killed Wednesday, along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and visitor William Love, police said. The attack occurred on the campus of Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa. The chief identified the shooter as Michael Louis, 45, of Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Louis carried a letter that said he was targeting Phillips, Franklin said. The letter “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 Phillips performed the surgery on May 19 and Louis was released from the hospital on May 24.
He said Louis called the doctor’s office “several times over several days” reporting he was still in pain and saw Phillips on Tuesday for “additional treatment.” Louis called the office again Wednesday “complaining of back pain and wanting additional assistance,” he said.
Love, 73, a retired Army sergeant, was a patient at the clinic but that day was accompanying his wife, Deborah, for her six-month checkup, said their daughter, Karen Denise Love.
Police have received reports that Love held a door shut in hopes of allowing others to flee from the gunman through another door, Franklin said.
911 calls in Uvalde not relayed to top cop
In Uvalde, Texas, the commander overseeing police during a shooting at an elementary school was not informed of panicked 911 calls coming from students trapped inside, and it’s unclear who at the scene was aware of the calls, a Texas state senator said Thursday.
Sen. Roland Gutierrez said it was a “system failure” that school district police Chief Pete Arredondo received no word of the pleas for help from people inside Robb Elementary School on May 24.