Tulsa

Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said the assailant in Wednesday's attack blamed a doctor at the facility for ongoing pain after back surgery.

“She said that she was in the process of moving and then she found these pictures and she really wanted me to have them back… “It is the ultimate loss for Tulsa and St. Francis.” He planned to focus on Congress’s bipartisan push to regulate the purchase of ammonium nitrate – a chemical commonly used in fertilizer and explosives – after its use in deadly acts of terrorism, including the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. out of the goodness of her heart, knowing how much I miss and love my mother,” Reckenbeil said in a phone interview. Franklin said Louis was able to get into the hospital through a second-level parking level that’s connected to the building. "But we will be here to walk with you through that process every step of the way — have no doubt about that.” Franklin told reporters that police recovered a letter the gunman had on him detailing how he was “killing Dr. Phillips and anyone who came in his way.” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) described Wednesday’s hospital attack as “ a senseless act of violence and hatred.” Officers got to the scene within minutes, Franklin said, and the gunfire suddenly stopped. Democrats are hoping passage of a sweeping House bill will pressure Republicans in the Senate to join them in taking some action, even if it’s more modest. On May 19, Louis went into hospital for back surgery, and Phillips was the operating physician, Franklin said. Then, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Louis purchased a semiautomatic rifle from a local gun store shortly before heading to St. Francis, police said.

The shooter had complained multiple times about pain following back surgery and sought additional treatment days before the attack, which left five people ...

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

Authorities say the man who opened fire at a Tulsa medical office had purchased an AR-style rifle hours before fatally shooting four people.

The death toll does not include the suspects in the shootings. Tankersley said he and his mother sheltered in his father’s hospital room for more than an hour, trying to learn scraps of information from the TV news and passing nurses. The recent Memorial Day weekend saw multiple mass shootings nationwide, including at an outdoor festival in Taft, Oklahoma, 45 miles from Tulsa, even as single-death incidents accounted for most gun fatalities. “We also have a letter on the suspect, which made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr. Phillips and anyone who got in his way,” Franklin said. Since January, there have been 12 shootings where four or more people have been killed, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killing database. “But it was definitely a ‘this is happening here’ moment.” Officers waited over an hour to breach the classroom where the gunman attacked. “It appears both weapons at one point or another were fired on the scene," Dalgleish said. Bynum added: “Right now, my thoughts are with the victims. The shooter, whose name has not been released, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish said. Authorities said the gunman carried a rifle and handgun during the shooting at the medical building on a hospital campus, the latest in a series of deadly mass shootings across the country in recent weeks. The victims and gunman in Tulsa were found on the second floor of a medical office where an orthopedic clinic is located, police said.

Michael Lewis had been complaining about pain following surgery on his back last month and left a letter saying he wanted to kill Dr Preston Phillips.

Louis had been to an appointment the day before and Dr Phillips had been attempting to help him with his pain after his surgery on 19 May. Dr Phillips was one of those killed. Chief Franklin said Louis had a letter on him that "made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr Phillips and anyone who got in his way".