A man who blamed his surgeon for continuing the pain after a recent back surgery bought an AR-style rifle hours before opening fire at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, doctor’s office, and killed the doctor and three more people in an attack that ended up taking him. his own life, police said Thursday.
Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said the gunman repeatedly called the clinic complaining of the pain and specifically targeted the doctor who performed the surgery.
That doctor, Dr. Preston Phillips, was killed Wednesday, along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and patient William Love, police said. The attack took place on the Saint Francis Health System campus in Tulsa.
It was the latest in a series of mass shootings in the United States, including the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and an attack on a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
The 45-year-old gunman was carrying a letter saying 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 gets in his way,” Franklin said. “He blamed Dr. Phillips for continued pain after surgery.”
Victims remembered with affection
Phillips was an orthopedic surgeon interested in spine surgery and joint reconstruction, according to a profile on the clinic’s website. He once served as chief physician for the Tulsa WNBA team before the franchise moved out of state, according to Tulsa World.
Dr. Cliff Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, called Phillips a “consummate gentleman” and “a man we should all strive to imitate.”
He said the three employees who were killed were “the three best people in the world” and that “they didn’t deserve to die that way.”
The shooting left four people dead, in addition to the gunman, who police say was killed by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. (J Pat Carter / Getty Images)
Legally purchased weapons shortly before the attack
Police believe the gunman bought his weapons legally, Franklin said. The gunman bought an AR-style semi-automatic rifle on the afternoon of the shooting and a pistol on Sunday, the police chief said.
Franklin praised law enforcement, 911 and emergency operators for their “immediate response” to Wednesday’s attack.
Police responded to the call about three minutes after dispatchers received the report at 4:52 p.m. local time and contacted the gunman at 5:01 p.m., authorities said Wednesday.
“Our training led us to take immediate action and without hesitation,” he said. “That’s exactly what the agents are doing and that’s what they did in this case.
The length of time it took for Uvalde police officers to confront the gunman during the deadly shooting at a Texas school last week has become a key focus of this investigation. Officers waited more than an hour to enter the classroom where the gunman attacked.
TARGET | Tulsa Police Chief describes the events that led to Wednesday’s shooting:
A Tulsa gunman pointed to the doctor he blamed for the pain after surgery, according to police
Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin described the events that led to Wednesday’s deadly shooting at an Oklahoma doctor’s office by a man who blamed his doctor for the pain after recent surgery from behind. Four people were killed in the attack, which police say ended up the shooter apparently committing suicide.
Political Division on Arms Control Legislation
Democratic leaders have stepped up their calls for more gun restrictions since the Uvalde shooting, while Republicans are emphasizing safer schools.
The split reflects a partisan split that has hampered action in Congress and many state chapters on how best to respond to a record number of gun-related deaths in the U.S.
Oklahoma House Democrats called for a special session Thursday to consider gun safety legislation, but that is unlikely to happen in a GOP-controlled legislature that has been pushing for years to ease gun restrictions. of fire.
Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is running for re-election, said last week after the Texas shooting that it was too early to talk about gun policy.
A pro-gun group, the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association, is an influential force in the state Capitol, and the first bill Stitt signed after taking office in 2019 was a measure that allows most adults to carry firearms openly without the necessary background. control or training.