Gunman who killed 4 at Tulsa hospital was patient of doctor who is among the dead

[Arkansas Granny]

The gunman who killed four people at a Tulsa hospital on Wednesday blamed a doctor at the facility for ongoing pain after back surgery and vowed to kill him and anyone who got in his way, police said Thursday.

Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin told reporters that Michael Louis bought an AR-15-style weapon on the same day as the attack, killing St. Francis Hospital doctors Preston Phillips and Stephanie Husen. Two other victims were identified as William Love, a patient, and Amanda Green, a receptionist.

“We grieve with the families after this senseless tragedy. We grieve with the co-workers,” Franklin said. “And we pray. We pray because we all need prayer.”

On May 19, Louis went into hospital for back surgery, and Phillips was the operating physician, Franklin said. After Louis was released from the hospital on May 24, he “called several times over several days complaining of pain and wanted additional treatment,” according to police.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/02/tulsa-shooting-news-medical-center/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert&wpmk=1&wpisrc=al_news__alert-national&pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJjb29raWVuYW1lIjoid3BfY3J0aWQiLCJpc3MiOiJDYXJ0YSIsImNvb2tpZXZhbHVlIjoiNTk2YThjM2JhZTdlOGEwZWYzM2Y3ZWRlIiwidGFnIjoid3BfbmV3c19hbGVydF9yZXZlcmUiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vbmF0aW9uLzIwMjIvMDYvMDIvdHVsc2Etc2hvb3RpbmctbmV3cy1tZWRpY2FsLWNlbnRlci8_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1hbGVydCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj13cF9uZXdzX2FsZXJ0X3JldmVyZSZsb2NhdGlvbj1hbGVydCZ3cG1rPTEmd3Bpc3JjPWFsX25ld3NfX2FsZXJ0LW5hdGlvbmFsIn0.Vdzhs7B3WMhN54msN9wO7_xle3tLEIkgdkRXUKGuj6s

Another AR-15 used to commit mass murder. Tell me again how it's not about the guns.

[PittBlue]

1. Jeezus.

This is such a shithole country.

[NoRethugFriends]

2. Fuck Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin

“We grieve with the families after this senseless tragedy. We grieve with the co-workers,” Franklin said. “And we pray. We pray because we all need prayer.”

[Skittles]

9. thank you

prayers are what people do to make themselves feel better, it excuses them from having to actually do something that gets real results

[Runningdawg]

3. Tulsa cops are strutting around like they actually saved someone. Sickening.

That SOB bought the gun and did the deed WITHIN AN HOUR!!!

[Lulu Latech]

4. He recently had back surgery and was in pain.

Not defending his actions but pain medication after surgery often does not really take away the pain and one of the effects can be psychosis. It happened to me after my C section when I had an adverse reaction to synthetic morphine. I remember being so frightened they would take my baby away if I told them I was seeing things. Being a mental health professional I had some awareness of what was happening and told the Doctor and was better within hours. I've also had two joint replacements and honestly was not really told how bad the pain would be for weeks afterwards. I feel for those medical professionals and their families This is so so sad for everyone. And yes he bought those guns right before the shootings....Waiting periods could have stopped those purchases. He walked into the store and walked out with the gun...

[GoodRaisin]

5. A background check law with a minimum waiting period could have prevented

this guy from buying his AR-15 and walking straight over to the hospital to kill people with it. And, of course, if military style assault weapons were illegal to sell he couldn’t have done this, not at least without trying to do it a different way.

That’s it. If Republicans are going to continue to block us from taking these kind of actions then the Republican shootings are going to go on and on.

Republicans made it easy for him to murder people. (Not “Congress”)

[Samrob]

6. I know about back surgeries.

Depending on the source of the injury the aftermath can be devastating. Pain from nerve damage is very difficult to control. My spouse after two back surgeries (and from one of the top-rated back surgeons in Maryland) had severe back pain from 3016 until he died from COVID in 2020. The regimes from the Pain Center were even worse. Eventually he had to be taken off the pain meds as they were keeping him in a stupor most of the time. He never regained the ability to walk without a walker.

On the other hand, my 73-year old cousin had a ruptured disc, two operations from the same surgeon and only had severe pain for about month that gradually dwindled to discomfort when sitting for long periods.

If back pain is anything like severe migraines, I understand it could drive one mad.

Not making excuses but saying I understand.

[GoodRaisin]

8. Me too.

I have permanent nerve pain in my hands, arms and feet after cervical surgery about 18 months ago. There aren’t great treatments for it. Now I’m being told I need more lower back surgery to treat stenosis in the lumbar spine region. The surgeon cuts open your back to do a lower spine clean out, often cutting into the joints of vertebrae to make room for your spinal cord and nerves which are getting squeezed from the stenosis. Sometimes they place supports such as rods and cages to help stabilize where the surgeon has cut into the joints. Then patients often wake up from this surgery with new nerve pain the surgeon can’t readily take away.

Since I already have the upper nerve pain, I’m not exactly thrilled about the prospect of introducing more nerve pain by having more cutting on my spine, so I have been hesitant to take this step (until I can just no longer live with it).

So, I can definitely understand the agony this patient may have been going through. Obviously he blamed his surgeon. But most surgeons are up front about this possibility and other complications that can arise from this surgery. My surgeon made it very plain that he could help me but he could also end up hurting me. They don’t really know.

I’m guessing this guy was in so much pain he wanted to die and decided to take his surgeon with him.

[SoCalDavidS]

7. Guns Solving Problems

Well, he succeeded in getting his revenge.

And he no longer has that problem with back pain.

What a Shithole country this is.

[Oneironaut]

10. Jesus fuck.

Honestly, I think it’s too late for at least 10 years. There are so many AR-15s in circulation, we’re drowning in them. We need to start buying them back now, and maybe AR-15 shootings will slowly lessen over time.

[Hugin]

11. I bet a sawbuck the treatment he had in mind was...

OxyContin or some derivative.