A gunman killed four people at a hospital compound in Tulsa, Oklahoma, police reported, a new shooting that shocks a United States still shaken by the massacre at a school in Texas last week.
The suspect, who was armed with a rifle and a handgun, died in the shooting at the Saint Francis hospital complex in Tulsa, police said.
“We have four dead civilians, we have the dead shooter, and we believe he committed suicide.”said Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish.
The agent stated that The police responded immediately after the emergency calls who warned of a shooter breaking into the second floor of a clinic adjacent to the hospital.
Today, we remember the hell unleashed 101 years ago in Tulsa, where Greenwood was raided, firebombed, and destroyed by a violent white supremacist mob. It wasn’t a riot, it was a massacre. We must continue to reckon with the past and work to build a more just future.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 1, 2022
Police “heard gunshots in the building” upon arrival, Dalgleish said, noting that officers searched the building floor by floor and room by room to clear the site. while the shooting was still considered active.
Previously, police captain Richard Meulenberg said that officers described the scene as “catastrophic,” with “several” people shot with “multiple injuries.”
it was not clear how many people were injured.
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Dalgleish noted that the assault, from the moment of the emergency calls to the intervention of the agents, lasted about four minutes. The shooter had not yet been identified. he added.
President Joe Biden was informed of the shooting, the White House said, noting that the government offered support to local officials.
UPDATE — we now have 5 dead, including the shooter, in the active shooter situation at the Natalie Building on the St. Francis Hospital Campus.
— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) June 2, 2022
“We deserve better”
Elizabeth Buchner, a paralegal who lives behind the building where the shooting occurred, said she ran out of her house when she heard the noise of helicopters and commotion coming from the hospital.
“It was the biggest security device I’ve ever seen anywhere in my life.“Buchner, 43, said.
The woman saw firsthand how a tactical team entered the building in a response he described as “swift and forceful”, “without hesitation”.
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Melissa Provenzano, a state legislator from Oklahoma, also praised the quick reaction of the agents. “It could have been much worse”.
The politician also expressed frustration at the repetition of these tragedies in the country. “We deserve better (…) These things are avoidable and it’s time to wake up and fix it“, he indicated.
ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATION UPDATE: See our Facebook for more info: pic.twitter.com/dla5NWukWM
— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) June 1, 2022
The incident adds to a series of deadly attacks by gunmen in the past month in the United States.
A little over a week ago, a young man armed with an AR-15 assault rifle broke into a school in Uvalde, in the state of Texas, and he murdered 19 children and two teachers, before being shot down by law enforcement.
Previously, on May 14, a white supremacist killed ten black people during a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, in the state of New York. In his case, the assailant survived and faces legal charges.
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Greater control over access to firearms in the United States – a right guaranteed by the second amendment to the Constitution – faces resistance from most Republicans and some Democratic rural states.
But Biden, who visited Uvalde over the weekend, pledged earlier this week to “keep pressing” for reform.
