The gunman who opened fire at a Tulsa medical office purchased an AR-style rifle “about an hour” before fatally shooting four people in the latest in a series of deadly mass shootings across the country in recent weeks, authorities said Thursday.
Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said the gunman had recently undergone back surgery and had called the clinic repeatedly complaining of pain.
The shooter targeted the doctor who performed the surgery, blaming him for the pain. That surgeon, Dr. Preston Phillips, was among those killed Wednesday.
The other victims were identified as Dr. Stephanie Husen, Amanda Green and William Love. Green was the receptionist at the office and Love was a patient.
Franklin said a letter was found on the gunman stating that he intended to kill Phillps and “anyone who got in his way.”
“We at the Tulsa Police Department, we grieve with these families after this senseless tragedy. We grieve with the co-workers, and we pray because we all need prayer,” Franklin said. “This is yet another act of violence upon an American city. I will say that as a Tulsa Police officer, we train and we train and we train — and we train for instances such as this. I’m overwhelmed and proud of all the men and women who responded yesterday.”
Wednesday’s shooting on the campus of Saint Francis Health System happened the same week that families in Uvalde, Texas, began burying the dead from the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade.
The victims and gunman in Tulsa were found on the second floor of a medical office where an orthopedic clinic is located, police said. The shooter, identified as Michael Louis, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
This is a breaking news update. Please check back for updates.
