Tulsa shooting: Five dead in attack on medical clinic
Police have identified the suspect and four victims who were killed on Wednesday in Tulsa at the Saint Francis Hospital campus.
Tulsa police chief Wendell Franklin told reporters on Thursday morning that Michael Louis, the suspect, wanted to kill Dr Preston Phillips over recent back surgery and pain he felt.
He said the suspect purchased a semi-automatic rifle hours before the shooting took place on Wednesday afternoon, killing another physician, a receptionist and a patient.
Meanwhile, witnesses have recalled what happened when the gunman armed with a rifle and handgun opened fire and took his own life.
Officers responded to the scene within four minutes to find a “catastrophic scene”, said Tulsa police Capt Richard Meulenberg.
Mr Franklin praised the actions of his officers for doing what they had been trained to do, “to take immediate action without hesitation, that’s exactly what our officers do”.
The others killed include Dr Stephanie J Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn, and hospital patient patient William Love.
Tulsa shooting highlights threats doctors face over care
Doctors have been increasingly threatened with or become victims of violence by patients complaining of pain, especially in recent years when they have prescribed alternatives to opioids and tapered patients off addictive painkillers.
More than two-thirds of pain specialists surveyed during a violence education session at a 2019 American Academy of Pain Medicine meeting said a patient threatened them with bodily harm at least once a year. Nearly half said they had been threatened over opioid management.
Read more:
Tulsa shooting highlights threats doctors face over care
The deadly mass shooting at an Oklahoma medical office by a man who blamed his surgeon for pain following back surgery underscores the escalating threats doctors face
‘Enough’: Biden demands action on gun violence as US schools become ‘battlefields’
Here’s a clip from his live address:
Taser maker proposes stun drone to try to stop school shootings
The proposal was met with objections from the company’s own ethics board, which questioned the idea of a remote-controlled flying drone armed with a Taser.
Axon said on Thursday that it has “formally begun development of a non-lethal, remotely-operated Taser drone system as part of a long-term plan” to stop mass shootings.
Maroosha Muzaffar has more.
Taser maker proposes stun drone to try to stop school shootings
The company’s ethics advisory board, however, has objected to idea
Two doctors, a receptionist and patient killed in Tulsa mass shooting
Three hospital employees and one patient have been identified as the victims of the mass shooting at the Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, southeast Oklahoma.
Tulsa Police Department Chief Wendell Franklin told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday that two physicians and a Saint Francis Healthcare System receptionist were among the four people killed.
A patient was also among the victims shot dead by suspect gunman Michael Louis, who police found dead with self-inflicted wounds.
The four victims were identified as Dr Preston Phillips, Dr Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn, and William Love, the patient.
Gino Spocchia has more details.
Two doctors, a receptionist and patient named as victims in Tulsa mass shooting
Healthcare system asks for prayers as ‘four members of our family’ killed
What do Buffalo, Uvalde, and Tulsa have in common? Legally bought guns
It’s hard to miss the similarities.
Recent shootings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma all involved legally purchased, AR-15-style weapons.
The weapon used in the Tulsa shooting was purchased that day.
The Independent’s John Bowden has this look at one of America’s most notorious and popular weapons.
The rise of the AR-15: Why America is defending a ‘weapon of war’
The AR-15 has been used in numerous high-casualty mass shootings including the recent shootings in Uvalde, Buffalo and Tulsa, John Bowden reports
Everything we know about the Tulsa hospital gunman
The suspected gunman of Tulsa named as Michael Louis, killed five people, including himself, on a hospital campus on 1 June as the nation reels from a series of mass shootings across the US, including massacres in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.
He was a patient at the Tulsa medical clinic and was admitted to the facility on 19 May for back surgery. He reportedly called several times to complain about subsequent pain and sought “additional treatment”.
Louis bought an AR-15-style rifle hours before the attack. He also purchased a semi-automatic handgun on 29 May from a local pawn shop, the police chief said.
Shweta Sharma has more details here:
Everything we know about the gunman who opened fire at Tulsa hospital
Michael Louis, the suspected shooter, is believed to have died by sucide after killing four at a hospital campus in Tulsa
American schools and public places have become ‘battlefields’ says Biden in call for action on gun violence
The president spoke live Thursday evening as members of the Senate, on recess, huddle to discuss possible compromise legislation in response to the shocking scenes of slaughter which unfolded at a supermarket and elementary school over the past few weeks.
Even those shootings, nightmarish as they are, risk falling into memory now in the face of violence that has unfolded in the days following those attacks in Uvalde and Buffalo, including shootings at a hospital in Tulsa and a high school in Los Angeles.
”There are too many other schools, too many other everyday places that have become killing places, battlefields here in America,” Mr Biden declared on Thursday from the White House.
John Bowden has the details.
US schools have become ‘battlefields’ says Biden in call for action after shootings
President calls for age for firearm purchases to be raised from 18 to 21, and for reinstatement of assault weapons ban
‘Thoughts and prayers are important but not enough’ says Harris
Vice president Kamala Harris in an address on Thursday once again stressed the need for “common-sense gun safety laws” and claimed Joe Biden has done more to combat gun violence “than any other president”.
“All of us hold the people of Tulsa in our hearts,” said Ms Harris, “but we also reaffirm our commitment to passing common-sense gun safety laws.
“President Biden has taken more executive action to combat gun violence than any other president,” she said. “But we cannot as an administration, or those of us who are here, address this alone.”
No more excuses. Thoughts and prayers are important, but not enough. We need Congress to act.
Multiple people shot in ‘critical incident’ at Wisconsin funeral
Multiple people have been shot in a ‘critical incident’ at a cemetery where a funeral was taking place in Wisconsin, in yet another shooting incident reported this week.
The incident took place during the funeral at Graceland Cemetery in Racine on Thursday afternoon, the police say.
“There are victims but unknown how many at this time,” Racine Police Department tweeted.
Graeme Massie has more:
Multiple people shot in ‘critical incident’ at Wisconsin funeral, police say
Violence unfolded at Graceland Cemetery in Racine
Shooting outside Iowa church kills two
Two people and a shooter died Thursday night in another shooting reported outside a church in Ames, authorities said.
The church is near Interstate 35, about 48.28 kilometres north of Des Moines.
Read more:
2 people and shooter die in shooting outside Iowa church
Two people and a shooter died in a shooting outside a church in Ames, Iowa
Source Article from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/tulsa-shooting-hospital-suspect-ar15-latest-b2093144.html
Comments