Michael Louis
Tulsa, Oklahoma – Four people were killed in a shooting inside of St. Francis Hospital Wednesday evening.
The gunman, Michael Louis, 45, took his own life after killing four people, according to police.
According to reports, Louis, armed with a rifle and a handgun, opened fire at an orthopedic office on the second floor of the hospital at around 5 pm local time.
Michael Louis targeted Dr. Preston Phillips, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in spinal surgery who just performed back surgery on Louis last month.
Louis repeatedly called the doctor’s office and complained of pain following the back surgery before going on a shooting rampage.
“He blamed Dr. Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery,” Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin told reporters on Thursday.
“In addition to Phillips, Franklin identified Wednesday’s shooting victims as Dr. Stephanie J. Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and William Love, who was a patient at the clinic.” the New York Post reported.
Dr. Preston Phillips
Dr. Stephanie J. Husen, D.O.
The New York Post reported:
A deranged gunman with a rifle and a handgun who killed four people at an Oklahoma medical building targeted a doctor who previously operated on him “and anyone who got in his way,” authorities said Thursday.
The gunman, identified as Michael Louis, opened fire at about 5 p.m. Wednesday at an orthopedic office on the second floor of the Natalie Medical Building at Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, Police Chief Wendell Franklin told reporters at a press conference.
Louis, 45, of Muskogee, went to the hospital on May 19 for back surgery, which was performed by Dr. Preston Phillips. Louis was released on May 24, Franklin said.
Louis proceeded to call several times to complain of pain and sought additional treatment. He then saw Phillips on Tuesday and called the doctor’s office again on Wednesday seeking additional help, Franklin said.
About an hour before the shooting, Louis legally bought a semi-automatic AR-15-style rifle from a local gun store and purchased a semi-automatic handgun on May 29 from a local pawn shop, Franklin said.
Cops recovered dozens of spent shell casings from the shooting scene, as well as a letter penned by Louis that made it clear he intended to kill Phillips and “anyone who got in his way” following the surgery that he claimed had left him ailing, Franklin said.
He managed to get inside the facility via a second-floor garage, where he parked before he “worked his way into the building,” Franklin said.