• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
        Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
        “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
        California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
        Small town North Carolina police officer rescues man from house fire
    • Labor
      • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost...
        Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
        San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
        Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
        Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
    • Tech
      • NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
        NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on...
        Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
        West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
        FBI seizes website of notorious ransomware gang in cybercrime...
    • Training
      • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
        Running your patrol rifle like a champion
        Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
        Defensive tactics
        Mechanics, consistency and aggression
    • Policy
      • Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite...
        Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
        President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
        California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
        Texas law enforcement leaders say the state has too many police...
    • Health/Wellness
      • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
        Coping with internal investigation or legal action
        The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
        What officers love, hope and worry about
        Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
    • Community
      • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths...
        Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
        North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
        “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
        Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
    • Offbeat
      • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
        Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving...
        Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
        “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
        “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
    • We Remember
      • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
        Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
        Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
        Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
        At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • On the Job
    • Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
      Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
      “An emotional encounter”: Connecticut police officer talks a man...
      California police officer uses K-9’s leash to rescue drowning man
      Small town North Carolina police officer rescues man from house fire
  • Labor
    • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost...
      Sioux Falls Police Department offers $5K hiring bonuses to boost...
      San Francisco mulls over increasing police recruitment bonuses to...
      Nevada may soon allow noncitizens to become police officers to...
      Florida pays out $5M in hiring bonuses for more than one thousand...
  • Tech
    • NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
      NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on...
      Airbnb expands law enforcement portal to fight child trafficking
      West Virginia law enforcement agencies use drones to get a...
      FBI seizes website of notorious ransomware gang in cybercrime...
  • Training
    • Pennsylvania police utilize VR for de-escalation training
      Running your patrol rifle like a champion
      Present ability, opportunity and apparent intent
      Defensive tactics
      Mechanics, consistency and aggression
  • Policy
    • Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite...
      Arkansas sheriff’s offices refuse to enforce federal ATF gun policy
      President Biden signs bill expanding national missing persons database
      California Highway Patrol spotlights new traffic laws for 2023
      Texas law enforcement leaders say the state has too many police...
  • Health/Wellness
    • Retired Wisconsin police officer offers mental health services for...
      Coping with internal investigation or legal action
      The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers
      What officers love, hope and worry about
      Don’t be “that guy” — get moving
  • Community
    • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths...
      Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
      North Charleston police officer drafted by professional football team
      “I’m very, very blessed”: Cleveland police officer back on...
      Newark good Samaritan honored for assisting wounded officers
  • Offbeat
    • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
      Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving...
      Drunk-driving suspect performs backflip for Ohio police during...
      “Like a scene from ‘Home Alone’”: Georgia man slips on ice...
      “Some real sitcom stuff there”: Florida burglars call 9-1-1 for...
  • We Remember
    • “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
      Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
      Deputy killed by roommate after he “jokingly” pulled trigger of...
      Maryland’s oldest cold case solved
      At least 13 officers shot in five days as wave of violence sweeps...
  • Between the Lines
    • Persecution of the LEO is Classic Schadenfreude
      The Rule of Law is Worthless Without Order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
      The dichotomy of the defund movement: reality setting in
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

On the Job

Tulsa medical center shooting leaves five dead in 233rd mass shooting of the year

APB Team Published June 6, 2022 @ 2:00 pm PDT

Tulsa P.D.

Five people have been killed at yet another mass shooting, this time at a medical center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after a man opened fire on a surgeon who he blamed for chronic pain after a recent back surgery.

Police say the man purchased an AR-style rifle just hours before what would be the 233rd mass shooting of the year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

According to Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, the patient had called the clinic at the Saint Francis Health System repeatedly over complaints of back pain before targeting the surgeon.

The surgeon, Dr. Preston Phillips, was killed along with Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and visitor William Love.

The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Michael Louis of Muskogee, killed himself in the attack.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Tulsa police Captain Richard Meulenberg called it a “catastrophic scene” with multiple injured and several casualties. The Saint Francis Health System campus also went on lockdown following the shooting at the Natalie Medical Building.

The medical building is known to house a breast health center and an outpatient surgery center.

The attack is one of the latest mass shootings in the United States, coming soon after the high-profile shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.

Biden addressed the nation from the White House following the shootings, and called for Congress to pass stricter gun control measures such as raising the age requirement to buy a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21.

“Just over a week ago, there have been 20 mass shootings in America, each with four or more people killed or injured,” Biden said. “That doesn’t count the carnage we see every single day that doesn’t make the headlines,” Biden said after mentioning the Tulsa shooting.

The perpetrator, Louis, was carrying a letter on him at the time of the shooting that “made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr. Phillips and anyone who got in his way.” Louis “blamed Dr. Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery,” the chief said.

Franklin said Louis had called the office “several times over several days,” saying he was still in pain and saw Phillips for “additional treatment.” Louis called the office the following day “complaining of back pain and wanting additional assistance,” according to Franklin.

According to a profile on the clinic’s website, the 59-year-old doctor was an orthopedic surgeon focusing on spinal surgery and joint reconstruction. Phillips was formerly the lead physician for Tulsa’s WNBA team.

Dr. Cliff Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, called Phillips a “consummate gentleman” and referred to the three employees who were killed as “the three best people in the entire world.” He added that they “didn’t deserve to die this way.”

According to police reports, William Love, a 73-year-old retired Army sergeant, was taking his wife Deborah to her six-month check-up when he walked into the shooter’s path.

Reports from witnesses claim that Love held a door shut to allow others to escape from the shooter through another door and prevent the shooter from pursuing them.

Daughter Karen Love was with her parents in an examination room at the time.

“As they heard this guy going up and down the hall, they knew it was gunfire,” Karen Love said. “They thought it was someone just shooting people. My dad was trying to hold the door the best he could.”

Franklin commended law enforcement’s fast response to the shooting, with officers arriving just three minutes after dispatchers received the report. Officers made contact with the shooter in less than 10 minutes following the call.

Police believe Louis shot himself less than a minute after the first officers entered the building.

“Our training led us to take immediate action without hesitation,” Franklin said. “That’s exactly what officers do, and that’s what they did in this instance.”

According to reports, there have been 12 shootings since January where four or more people have been killed. Additionally, 76 people were killed in just 12 shootings, not including the shooters themselves.

“I … want to express our community’s profound gratitude for the broad range of first responders who did not hesitate today to respond to this act of violence,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, mayor of Tulsa, said at a news conference following the tragedy.

Categories: On the Job Tags: gun control, mass shooting, St. Francis Health System, Tulsa Police Department, Wendell Franklin, Preston Phillips, Michael Louis, AR-rifle, Tulsa

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Atlanta’s “Cop City” training center project approved despite activist opposition
  • Pig crosses path with law enforcement in Virginia
  • NYPD iconic police cruisers get high-tech makeover
  • Georgia officer pushes stranded woman’s car to gas station
  • Washington’s King County sets record for fentanyl overdose deaths in 2022; morgue running out of space for bodies
  • NYPD warns of police attacks after Apple AirTag device was found on marked patrol vehicle
  • South Dakota Police Department offers $5,000 hiring bonuses to boost recruiting and diversity
  • Washington police K-9 retires after nearly a decade of service
  • Brotherly love: Police officer donates kidney to deputy sibling
  • Texas police find cute dog behind the wheel in reckless driving incident at Walmart

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.