On June 1, 2022, Michael Louis opened fire in the Natalie Building, part of the Saint Francis Hospital in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, United States. He killed four people, three of whom were hospital staff, and injured an unspecified number of others before committing suicide.

Shooting

The shooting reportedly occurred on the building's second floor, in the

orthopedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

facility, with the victims being both staff members and patients. Louis had entered the building through a second-floor entrance from the parking garage that was open to the public. Law enforcement received a call of a person with a firearm in the Natalie Medical Building on Saint Francis Hospital campus, at around 4:56 p.m. Responding officers to the scene heard shots in the building and moved toward the second floor. Officers believe the last shot was fired around 4:58 p.m., and as they were moving towards the shooter's location while calling out "Tulsa police", they heard the final gunshot. The Tulsa Police Department confirmed just before 5:00 p.m. CDT that the shooter was killed by what they believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Tulsa Police Department notified the

Muskogee Police Department Muskogee Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Consisting of 91 sworn officers and 28 other employees, the department serves a population of over 40,000 people. The department was under the supervision an ...

that a bomb may have been placed in a residential area in Muskogee.

Victims

Four people were killed, and an unspecified number were injured in the shooting. The fatalities were Dr. Preston Phillips, Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn, and the husband of a patient, William Love.

Perpetrator

The gunman was identified as 45-year-old Michael Louis (also known as Michelet Louis) of Muskogee. Police said he was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and an AR-15-style firearm, which were reportedly purchased on May 29 and June 1, respectively. Michael was formerly a resident of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, and

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. On June 2, the Chief of the Tulsa Police Department, Wendell Franklin, stated that Louis had undergone back surgery with Phillips and had suffered from pain since the operation. Phillips previously performed surgery on Louis on May 19, and Louis blamed Phillips for his continued pain post-surgery. Between the surgery and the shooting, he had called the office several times seeking relief from the pain. A letter, which officials said was found on Louis, said that, while Phillips was the target of the shooting, others "who got in his way" would also be killed.

Aftermath

Multiple methods of fundraising for the victims and their families were created shortly after the shooting. The Tulsa Community Foundation has a Saint Francis Employee Emergency Fund, and a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

was created for at least one of the victims.

Responses

Oklahoma Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he began his first term as governor in January 2019 and was reelected to a second t ...

called the shooting "a senseless act of violence and hatred." Tulsa Mayor

G. T. Bynum George Theron Bynum IV (born August 28, 1977) is an American politician and lobbyist from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, Bynum is the 40th mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prior to becoming mayor, he served as a city councilo ...

expressed "profound gratitude" for the "broad range of first responders who did not hesitate today to respond to this act of violence." Captain Richard Meulenberg of the Tulsa Police Department described the attack as deliberate, saying, "It wasn't random," and that "This wasn't an individual who just decided he wanted to go find a hospital full of random people. He deliberately made a choice to come here and his actions were deliberate." Many physicians, especially black orthopedic surgeons, expressed their sorrow for Phillips' death. Many touched upon the concern that other physicians have felt over the years due to threats by patients. The former president of the J.R. Gladden Society, a national organization of orthopedic physicians of color claimed the attack was a part of practicing medicine and that 99% of doctors across the country would report being threatened, having to fire patients, get restraining orders, or carry concealed for protection. Additional concerns have been raised by a study from

National Nurses United National Nurses United (NNU) is the largest organization of registered nurses in the United States. With more than 225,000 members, it is the farthest-reaching union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S. Founded in 2009 th ...

which concluded that based on "countless acts of assault, battery, aggression, and threats of violence that routinely take place in health care settings....a frightening trend of increasing violence face by health care workers throughout the country."

References