Tulsa Hospital Mass Shooting: Everything We Know About The Deadly Gun Violence
Tulsa, Oklahoma is the latest city that now has to deal with the heartbreak and trauma left by a mass shooting.
A gunman killed four people and then himself on Wednesday when he opened fire inside the Natalie Medical Building on the campus of St. Francis Hospital.
So far in 2022, there have been 233 mass shootings in the US.
According to reports, Police responded within minutes to calls about a man armed with a rifle and a handgun on the hospital campus. Officers arrived on the scene to gunshots from inside the medical building, which directed police to the second floor where the shooting occurred.
Police found the suspect dead from self-inflicted gun wounds, along with a semiautomatic rifle and a semiautomatic pistol, the weapons officials believe he used in the attack. 10 people were injured in the incident, fortunately, their injuries were non-life-threatening. Authorities have not identified the gunman, but say he was a Black male between 35 and 40 years old.
“It was just madness inside, with hundreds of rooms and hundreds of people trying to get out of the building, said Tulsa Police Department Captain Richard Meulenberg in an interview with CNN.
Investigators still haven’t released a motive, but believe this was no random act.
“He very purposefully went to this location, went to a very specific floor, and shot with very specific purpose,” said Meulenberg. “This was not a random shooting by this individual.”
Tulsa City Council Member Jamye Fowler has suggested that the gunman was looking for a specific physician when he entered the hospital, but couldn’t find the person he was looking for.
TULSA (@CNN) — Tulsa City Council Member Jamye Fowler said a gunman was looking for a specific physician when he entered the St. Francis Hospital campus and began shooting.
“The shooter could not find this physician, and that elicited you know, his behavior at the shootings.”
— Mike Valerio (@ValerioCNN) June 2, 2022
Witness accounts also suggest that the Tulsa hospital mass shooting was targeted at a certain individual.
Gannon Gill, a physician assistant at the hospital, told the New York Times that he escaped to the garage during the shooting when a couple told him they encountered the shooter.
“The shooter told him and his wife to leave and he was not there for him,” Mr. Gill told the New York Times. “You see this stuff on television or the news, but you don’t think it’s ever going to happen in your workplace.”
According to KTUL, the Tulsa Police Department warned the Muskogee Police Department of a possible bomb in a home within their jurisdiction that could be related to the shooting at Saint Francis Hospital. Muskogee Police searched the home, but no bomb was found.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt stated via Twitter expressing his gratitude for the quick response from the first responders.
“I am grateful for the quick and brave actions of the Tulsa Police Department and other first responders who did their best to contain a terrible situation. I have offered Mayor G.T. Bynum any state resources that may be needed, and I ask all Oklahomans to come together in support of the Saint Francis Health System community and to grieve with those whose lives have been forever changed.”
I have offered Mayor G.T. Bynum any state resources that may be needed, and I ask all Oklahomans to come together in support of the Saint Francis Health System community and to grieve with those whose lives have been forever changed. (3/3)
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) June 2, 2022
The Tulsa shooting comes just a week after 19 students and two teachers were killed in Uvalde, Texas in the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook. Less than a month ago 10 Black people were killed in Buffalo after a shooter targeted folks shopping at the grocery store.
According to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll, 68% of Americans favor requiring criminal and mental background checks for all those buying guns, including at gun shows or private sales.
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