Surgeon Killed In Oklahoma Shooting Trained At Harvard University

CAMBRIDGE, MA — A Harvard-trained doctor was reportedly targeted during a deadly shooting at a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma Wednesday.

Investigators say the gunman was a patient who had recently undergone back surgery and had been contacting the clinic to complain of ongoing pain. Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said Dr. Preston Phillips was the target of the shooting.

Dr. Phillips was a Harvard Medical School graduate and the orthopedic surgeon who performed the gunman's back surgery before he was killed Wednesday, along with another doctor, a receptionist, and a patient at the medical building, Franklin said.

"The suspect blamed Dr. Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery," Franklin said. "We also have a letter on the suspect, which made it clear that he came in with the intent to kill Dr. Phillips and anyone who got in his way."

Michael Louis entered the medical building armed with an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun late Wednesday afternoon before shooting and killing Dr. Phillips, and three other people at St. Francis Hospital, Franklin said. Police identified the other three victims as Dr. Stephanie Husen, Amanda Green, and William Love.

The victims and gunman were found on the second floor of the Natalie Medical Building, which houses an orthopedic clinic.

Officers arrived at 4:56 p.m. and began clearing the Natalie Medical Building, a five-story medical building with many rooms and offices, making it a "complex" building for responding to an active shooter situation, Franklin said.

Shortly after, officers heard a gunshot, which they believe was the final gunshot in which the gunman took his life. Police recovered 37 total bullet casings.

Louis received back surgery from Phillips on May 19 and was released May 24, police said. Louis called several times over the next few days complaining of pain and wanting additional treatment. Phillips saw Louis for additional treatment on Tuesday, and Louis called again Wednesday complaining of back pain and wanting additional assistance.

The shooting comes just more than a week after 21 people — 19 students and two teachers — were killed in a massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. It's also barely two weeks after another gunman killed 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo grocery store.

The Associated Press and Patch writer Jeffrey Perkins contributed to this story.