The gunman believed responsible for a shooting at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, medical center Wednesday night specifically targeted and subsequently killed the doctor who performed his back surgery last month, police said Thursday. The gunman also shot and killed three others before dying from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooter, identified by Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin as 45-year-old Michael Louis, had called the clinic repeatedly to complain of back pain, for which he blamed his surgeon, Dr. Preston Phillips. Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn, and patient William Love were also killed.
Franklin said Louis was carrying a letter showing he both intended to target Phillips and believed him responsible for his continued discomfort post-surgery. Authorities also said Louis had recently purchased the guns used in the shooting, including the AR-15 style rifle he bought just hours before.
The Wednesday attack arrives on the heels of two other high-profile massacres: a supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York that left 10 dead, and an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 21, including 19 children.
In response to the unrelenting violence, President Biden is scheduled to call for legislative action in a speech Thursday evening.