Tulsa gunman targeted doctor who performed his back surgery [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The gunman who fatally shot four people at a Tulsa hospital was hunting a specific doctor, police said.
• The shooter blamed the doctor, who had recently performed his back surgery, for his pain.
• Authorities said the gunman purchased the AR-15-style rifle hours before the mass shooting.

The gunman who fatally shot four people at a Tulsa medical facility on Wednesday targeted the doctor who recently performed his back surgery. The shooter blamed the surgeon for ongoing pain after the procedure and went to the hospital with the intent to kill.

Police said Thursday that the gunman purchased the AR-style rifle he used to kill the surgeon, Dr. Preston Phillips, and three other people hours before going to the Tulsa medical office. The gunman also died after shooting himself.

The gunman had repeatedly called a clinic complaining of pain after the back surgery, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said.

“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. “He blamed Dr. Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery.”

Wednesday’s shooting happened just a week after the deadly elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Police found the shooter and the victims in Tulsa on the second floor of the Natalie Medical Building where Dr. Phillips’ orthopedic clinic is located. The shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish said.

The shooter was carrying a rifle and a handgun during the shooting at the medical facility on the campus of Saint Francis Health System.

“It appears both weapons at one point or another were fired on the scene,” Dalgleish said. “The officers who arrived were hearing shots in the building, and that’s what led them to the second floor.”

Police responded to the call about three minutes after dispatchers received the report at 4:52 p.m. and made contact with the gunman at 5:01 p.m., Dalgleish said.

“I was very happy with what we know so far regarding the response of our officers,” Dalgleish said.

The police’s response has now become an issue after the Uvalde elementary school shooting last week. The amount of time it took Uvalde police to engage the gunman has become a focus of the investigation. Officers reportedly waited over an hour to breach the classroom where 19 students and two teachers were killed.

The Tulsa shooting also comes just over two weeks after a white man opened fire at a Buffalo supermarket, killing 10 Black people, in what police call a racist attack. The recent Memorial Day weekend also saw multiple mass shootings across the U.S.

Source: AOL.Com