Home Scandal and Gossip Tulsa gunman who killed 4 sought revenge for back surgery prolonged pain

Tulsa gunman who killed 4 sought revenge for back surgery prolonged pain

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Michael Louis Tulsa gunman St Francis Hospital shooting
St Francis Tulsa Hospital shooting: Michael Louis Tulsa gunman killed Dr. Preston Phillips orthopedic surgeon (pictured) & 3 others over back pain.
Michael Louis Tulsa gunman St Francis Hospital shooting
St Francis Tulsa Hospital shooting: Michael Louis Tulsa gunman killed Dr. Preston Phillips orthopedic surgeon & 3 others over back pain. Images via Tulsa police and screengrab.

St Francis hospital shooting: Michael Louis Tulsa gunman killed Dr. Preston Phillips orthopedic surgeon who operated on him for back pain along with 3 others ‘who stood in his way.’ 

The gunman who shot and killed four people in a hospital in TulsaOklahoma, before taking his own life had been a back surgery patient determined to kill his surgeon over lingering pain which he blamed on the doctor who had operated on him according to new revelations. 

Michael Louis, 45, the individual identified killing four people at the St.Francis Hospital on Wednesday was found with a letter that stated his intent to kill Dr. Preston Phillips, who operated on him on May 19, ‘and anyone who got in his way’, Tulsa Police chief Wendell Franklin said during a Thursday press conference

Franklin said Louis of Muskogee had been released on May 24 but called Phillips about lingering back pain for days and saw the orthopedic surgeon again on May 31 before returning the following day to kill the surgeon, along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Green and patient William Love

During the shooting, Franklin said Louis used an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle that he purchased at a local gun shop less than three hours before the shooting and was also armed with a .40 caliber handgun, which he purchased on May 29 at a pawn shop.

A total of 37 shell casings were recovered at the hospital, 30 from the rifle and seven from the pistol. 

Michael Louis Tulsa gunman St Francis Hospital shooting
St Francis Hospital shooting Tulsa. Pictured, fatalities, Dr. Preston Phillips and Dr. Stephanie Husen killed at the hands of Michael Louis of Muskogee.

Family of gunman disgusted over shooting 

Franklin said Louis’ wife confirmed with police that he blamed Phillips for his ongoing pain issues after being discharged May 24 following his surgery. She said Louis contacted her to let her know what he had done, but Franklin said she was not aware in advance of the shooting TulsaWorld reported.

Wednesday’s mass shooting took place eight days after an 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde, Texas, shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School.  

St. Francis Health System locked down its campus Wednesday afternoon because of the situation at the Natalie Medical Building, an outpatient surgery center and a breast health center. 

Franklin said police got a call at 4:52 p.m. on June 1 about the shooting taking place at the medical center, with police arriving at the scene four minutes later. 

Officers entered the building at 4:57 p.m., hearing a gun shot seconds later believed to be the final shot that Louis fired to kill himself in Phillip’s office. 

The Tulsa chief added that one of those killed in the attack had been struck when they were holding the door for others to escape. 

Louis’s niece told The Daily Beast police contacted her family, adding that they did not want to be identified because they’re ‘disgusted’ over the shooting. 

St Francis Hospital shooting Tulsa
St Francis Hospital shooting Tulsa. Pictured fatalities, Amanda Green and patient William Love killed at the hands of Michael Louis of Muskogee. OK.

Gun control debate

‘We are so distraught,’ she said. ‘I don’t even want to be associated because I’m so disgusted.

‘It’s just so shocking. Like, if he had killed himself, okay. But those innocent people, that’s what I’m hurting about,’ she added. 

Authorities were also investigating if the gunman planted a bomb at a residence in Muskogee but said no explosives were found in the house following a search. 

The latest mass shooting has reignited the national conversation around gun control and what action, if any, ought to be taken, in what increasingly is becoming a social problem which defines and responds in kind via the use of force and lethal violence. 

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