Two doctors, a receptionist and a clinic visitor were killed in a medical office attack.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
TULSA, Okla. — Shock. Tears. Prayers. Gun debate.
All ripple through The Park Church of Christ, a 2,000-member congregation that is a microcosm of Tulsa, as yet another American city mourns lives lost in a mass shooting.
“A few days ago, we all found ourselves in a heartbroken state,” Dr. Joe Reese, a church elder and former Saint Francis Health System chief of staff, said as grieving members gathered for worship Sunday.
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“While we see things on the news, it seems far away. But it really hit home and has hurt … when we see that four innocent Tulsans lost their lives,” added Reese, who knew two of those killed and led a special prayer for the victims’ families, medical professionals and first responders.
On the heels of a May 14 supermarket barrage in which 10 people died in Buffalo, N.Y., and a May 24 school massacre that claimed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, a gunman opened fire last week in a medical office in Oklahoma’s second-largest city.
Dr. Preston Phillips, 59; Dr. Stephanie Husen, 48; receptionist Amanda Glenn, 40; and clinic visitor William Love, 73, were shot to death in a building on the Saint Francis campus.
Michael Louis, 45, armed with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and a handgun, targeted his back surgeon — Phillips — after complaining of pain from a recent procedure, police reported.
The shooter killed himself as officers responded to the attack just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to authorities. A note left by Louis detailed his intent to kill the surgeon and anyone who got in his way, the police report said.
The deaths jolted members of The Park — the home congregation of Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin and dozens of Saint Francis staff.
This story appears in the online edition of The Christian Chronicle.
Featured photo by Gabriel Grant Huff
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