Tulsa police: Gunman bought rifle hours before hospital shooting, targeted doctor
Officials in Tulsa, Okla., said the gunman who fatally shot four people at Saint Francis Hospital on Wednesday targeted his surgeon, blaming him for ongoing pain following a recent back surgery. Police also said the gunman bought an AR-15-style rifle hours before the killings.
Video Transcript
- Now, we know, through the help of our ATF and their gun tracing that, at 2:00 PM, on June the 1st, Mr. Lewis purchased a semi-automatic rifle from a local gun store. That semi-automatic rifle was an AR-15 style rifle.
We know that Mr. Lewis purchased a semi-automatic handgun, a 0.40-caliber Smith and Wesson pistol, on May the 29th from a local pawnshop.
We have also found 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. He blamed Dr. Phillips for the ongoing pain following the surgery.
At 5:24 PM, we received a call from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. And that dispatcher told us a woman on the line, whose name they did not have, called, saying that her husband had killed several people at Dr. Phillips' office.
